Epilepsy Changed My Timeline—Not My Destination

The Timeline We Expect

When we turn 15, we normally go to the DMV with our parents, take our permit test—hopefully pass—and get our permit. Then we meet all the requirements, take the driving test, and get our license. Right?

Wrong.

Epilepsy is an invisible illness that loves to sneak up on the timeline we think we have planned for our lives. Plans change, and sometimes we have to return to the DMV at 21 to try to get our permit—only to have the process feel nearly impossible.

I was diagnosed with epilepsy at 14. I got my permit at 15 and had it for about six months before I could no longer drive.

Ready to Regain My Independence

Five years later, I had been grand mal seizure-free for a year and a half and was cleared to drive! I was so eager to return to the DMV and get my permit. I had been missing that sense of independence for so long.

I walked in, grabbed my ticket, and waited for my number to be called. When I got to the counter, I was told I couldn’t even get a permit.

Because I was over 18, my only option was to get my license—even though I had never gotten my license before and hadn’t been behind the wheel of a car in five years.

Finding Another Route Forward

These are the kinds of hoops we sometimes have to jump through, so my mom and I started jumping.

First, we contacted the Driver Specialty Services team, explained my situation again, and told them I didn’t want to immediately get my license. I simply wasn’t ready.

I wanted to practice and get my permit like everyone else. I was frustrated that I wasn’t being given the same fair opportunity.

I had to get approval to follow an unusual “testing” route, allowing me to take my permit test and then my license test. Funny, right? Why is wanting to be safe and confident after missing out on driving during my teenage years considered “unusual”?

Feeling Punished for a Timeline I Didn’t Choose

Because epilepsy prevented me from following a typical teenage timeline, I felt like I was being punished for it as an adult and treated unfairly.

I was frustrated that an accomplishment that seemed so simple for most people felt completely unreachable for me—no matter what stage of my health I was in.

Despite the number of hoops, we had to jump through to get my permit, I wouldn’t change it. The experience allowed me to reach a goal I had wanted for so long.

Every Hoop Was Worth Jumping Through

Having epilepsy is challenging, and that will never change. But it can also make us feel even more empowered when we achieve things that may come easily to others.

Having to fight for my right to get a permit because I was over 18 and hadn’t driven in five years felt a little ridiculous. But I’m so glad I did it.

Now I’m able to drive—and I’ve proven to myself that all the hoops placed in front of me because of epilepsy are worth jumping through, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Your Goals. Your Pace. Your Hoops.

I know driving may not be possible for everyone with epilepsy, and each person’s health, safety, and journey is different. For me, getting behind the wheel represented something bigger: regaining a piece of the independence I thought epilepsy had taken away.

Maybe your goal isn’t driving. Maybe it’s taking public transportation on your own, going back to school, finding a job, traveling, attending an event, cooking a meal, or simply making it through a difficult day. No milestone is too small when you’ve had to work hard to reach it.

Epilepsy may change our timelines and the paths we take, but it doesn’t erase our goals. Keep advocating for yourself, ask for help when you need it, and don’t be discouraged if your journey looks different from everyone else’s. Sometimes the milestones that require the most persistence are the ones that mean the most.

And you don’t have to navigate those milestones alone. Check out the YAWE community through our Peer Support groups and Discord—a safe place to share your journey, celebrate your victories, and talk honestly about the setbacks.

We get it. We’ve got you.