Sabita has lived with complex partial seizures for over half of her life. However, she does not let epilepsy define her.

Sabita is someone with epilepsy but she also is an activist, community volunteer, artist, and creative writer.

“I’m always very interested in working within the community and in different communities. I’m a part of the LGBTQ community, I’m a woman of colour. I make a point of noticing and recognizing areas of access that need walls to be torn down,” says Sabita.

Originally from Toronto, Sabita moved cities to complete her master’s degree. After her studies there she decided to move overseas for work. Around this time, she stopped taking regular medication for her seizures and experimented in naturopathic and homeopathic methods.

“I was quite turned off by the traditional medical field and that’s partly why I went into alternative therapies,” she explains.

This change worked for a while, her seizures were controlled, but when she moved back to Canada and relocated to Ottawa her seizures flared up again. Having to turn back to traditional medicine, Sabita needed to find a neurologist in the city. She reached out to Epilepsy Ottawa for advice.

“My experience with neurologists in the past in Toronto was that they were basically not very communicative and not in a way that I could feel comfortable as a patient,” explains Sabita.

Sabita was able to find a neurologist that was personable and someone who she could trust. She has since started taking medications again for her seizures. Sabita encourages herself to accept her epilepsy and the side effects that come with it- like not being able to drive.

“A lot of going forward is just accepting what is changeable and what is not,” says Sabita. 

Today Sabita has many accomplishments. For example, as an artist, she creates ceramic sculpture, mould-making, cast bronze sculpture, and functional mosaics.

Although epilepsy is something Sabita will continue to live with, it is not the only thing. Her art and community will continue to impact her too.

by Leah Burchill