A BRAVE mother whose life was turned upside down after being diagnosed with a debilitating condition has spoken of the need to raise awareness of the illness.

Zoe Grimes from Eastbourne was diagnosed with non-epileptic attack disorder in August 2020.

The 31-year-old said she was “very fit and healthy” and working full-time as a hairdresser before she experienced her first seizure in May.

The Argus: Paul has given up his job as a taxi driver to care for ZoePaul has given up his job as a taxi driver to care for Zoe

Zoe, who has three children, can have as many as 20 seizures a day and has become completely dependent on care from her husband Paul.

Zoe said: “It came completely out of the blue. I had no problems or anything like that.

“We went into lockdown, but it was nice because me, Paul and the kids got to spend some time together because we’re always so busy working. But then I had my first seizure.

The Argus: Paul said they did not want to keep Zoe's condition a secret from their childrenPaul said they did not want to keep Zoe's condition a secret from their children

“We thought it was a one off but then I had another seizure at the end of July and from then I’ve been having seizures every single day.”

Paul has given up his job as a taxi driver to become a full-time carer for Zoe.

There is no medication which can help to reduce the seizures, which look like epileptic seizures or fainting spells, but are not caused by abnormal electrical discharges or blood pressure.

The Argus: Zoe and Paul Grimes on their wedding dayZoe and Paul Grimes on their wedding day

The couple said they have found it difficult to adjust to their new reality after previously leading active lifestyles.

Zoe said: “I haven’t got my independence. I can’t do anything by myself, I can’t be left alone so it’s been a massive change for us.”

Paul said the diagnosis has been “tough” for their children, Cody, 7, Elise, 9 and Demi, 11 but they did not want to keep the condition a secret from them.

He told The Argus: “They know that mum’s safe and she’s not in any danger at all, so we give them jobs to do when she is having a seizure.

“If we’re outside my little boy will tell people going by that mummy is okay and she’s just having a seizure.

“My youngest girl will get a teddy bear and try and put it in mummy’s hands to let her know she’s safe.

“Me and my eldest daughter will put cushions under mum’s head to try and keep her as safe as possible.”

Zoe is now determined to raise awareness of non-epileptic attack disorder and has started sharing videos of her seizures on social media.

She said: “I never knew about non-epileptic attack disorder myself, I always thought if you had seizures you had epilepsy and that’s the whole stigma around it.

“This is why the condition can be so isolating because when you’re told that and because it has ‘non’ in front of it you just think it’s not real or people don’t believe you.”

“I started to post videos of my story. I did use social media quite a lot, but I came off it completely when the seizures started.”

Charity boxing club Glove Up for Good are fundraising for Zoe and her family by taking on a series of challenges.

To support visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/gloveupforgoodzoesstory