In early February, fashion entrepreneur Camila Coelho decided to go public about her struggle with epilepsy for the first time on International Epilepsy Day. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes a wide range of seizures that vary person-to-person and affects millions of individuals around the world. Until recently, Coelho hid her disorder behind her major life accomplishments such as launching her fashion line last year but over the years she began to fully accept her diagnosis and is now working to break the stigma surrounding epilepsy.
At the age of 9 Coelho experienced her first seizure and was later diagnosed with epilepsy, from then she was on her road to recovery and acceptance of her diagnosis. In efforts to prevent seizures from occurring, Coelho takes anti-seizure medication every night and manages her health in the best way possible. Her demanding role as a fashion entrepreneur she can have extremely stressful moments and in these difficult times, she allows herself to take a step back and relax since she knows her health is the most important thing to her. At the age of 17, Coelho decided to stop taking her medication since she felt that her experiences growing up were limited since she had to put her health first, as a result of not taking her medication she experienced a traumatic seizure at school and decided from that day on that she would no longer risk her health from any experience. Due to her diagnosis, Coelho allows herself to take days off and catch up on rest as she did back in 2019 when she decided to take a month off to be with her family in Brazil.
Since coming public with her disorder, she has also shared her fears about being in the time of her life when she is considering having children which is a big leap of faith for her and her health. Not taking her medication can put her at risk of having a seizure and losing the baby, but if she were to continue taking the medication it can make her more likely to give birth to a child with abnormal complications.
Camilla Coelho’s journey with epilepsy is just one of millions of individuals around the world who are faced with the difficult choices this diagnosis brings. My father is one of the many diagnosed with epilepsy and it is an everyday challenge for him but there are many ways to improve your health and it is not the end but rather the beginning of the journey.