History and Background

The Gambia Epilepsy Association headquarters & its chief executive Philip Chiga

My History and Background

I am Tanya Spensley, the Founder of Epilepsy Footprint, and was born in 1966. At eighteen months I was diagnosed with epilepsy after a recovery from both eye cancer (retinoblastoma) and chickenpox .

As a child at infant and junior school, it was difficult to understand why I was blacking out with regular absence seizures let alone explain it to friends and teachers. Although I knew I was getting regular dizzy spells, I didn’t realise at a young age that I had a brain condition called epilepsy which was making me lose consciousness. At school my epilepsy presented me with learning difficulties resulting in school years and exams having to be repeated. But I was always determined to succeed and not let this condition hold me back.

So in my early adulthood, when I also developed tonic clonic seizures, I decided to go out and learn more about epilepsy and how other people were handling the condition.
In 1983 I joined my local Epilepsy Action and National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) groups and got more involved with learning about many other people’s handling of epileptic seizures in everyday life. Employer and public attitudes towards epilepsy appeared to be the most common problem arising between members.

In 1992 I was transferred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) because other doctors had been unsuccessful in finding an appropriate treatment to control my own seizures. The NHNN began testing me via an Electroencephalogram (EEG), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), video telemetry, memory tests, neuropsychological tests and new medications. As a result a decision was made that I could be recommended for surgery on the left temporal lobe in September 1996. This was both an exciting and scary time but was well worth proceeding with. I didn’t suffer any permanent side effects from the surgery and have had my seizures controlled ever since.

Since this operation I decided to expand my horizons even more by becoming a registered volunteer for both epilepsy organisations. This has involved:

  • giving talks to businesses
  • one to one chats with patients.
  • running an epilepsy information point in two hospital paediatric departments

I also began attending international epilepsy congresses in 1999 and have since become elected as:  

  • Governor of the National Society for Epilepsy (2006)
  • Patron of the Gambia Epilepsy Association (2006)
  • Co-opted member of the International Bureau for Epilepsy’s Regional Executive Committee for Africa (2009)

This work has lead to many presentations and papers being given with regards to Epilepsy Awareness, Epilepsy in The Gambia and the treatment gap between nations and negotiations with political leaders.