Geelong West girl Charlotte Robertson’s battle with epilepsy

A Geelong dad hopes to raise awareness of the different types of seizures affecting those with epilepsy after his daughter was diagnosed with the condition and spent days intensive care.

Ten-year-old Charlotte Robertson had her first seizure when she was just five months old.

Her dad, Stephen, said she would experience episodes where her eyes glazed over and she would “stare off into space”.

“She wouldn’t engage or respond and she would hold her breath as well,” he said.

After multiple trips into Geelong hospital, Charlotte was diagnosed with epilepsy.

She was put on medication that kept her free from seizures until she was about three years old.

“We then decided to wean her off the medication and see how she went,” Mr Robertson said.

Charlotte managed only a few months before she had a seizure when her family where on a holiday at Cape York in Far North Queensland.

Geelong West dad Stephen Robertson and his daughter Charlotte, 10. Picture: Alan Barber

“We were in one of the more remote hospitals in Australia in Bamaga and needed emergency medication and she was put back onto the preventive medication,” Mr Robertson said.

“Once again, we managed to go seizure free for a few years until she started prep.”

That was when Charlotte had her first clonic seizure – where her body went still and she began shaking.

She now has focal seizures, where she is alert but experiences movements out of her control, “hundreds of times a day”.

In July last year, Charlotte was at Geelong hospital’s emergency department when she stopped breathing.

“She had to be incubated which led to a week-long stay in intensive care,” Mr Robertson said.

“It was a full-on experience.

“Fast forward a few months, we were back in intensive care because she stopped breathing a second time.

“She ended up having a 90-minute seizure.”

Mr Robertson is hoping to raise awareness in the community that not all seizures look the same.

There are at least 60 different types of seizures and most people with the condition will experience more than one type, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.

Charlotte Robertson wears purple for Make March Purple to raise awareness for epilepsy. Picture: Alan Barber

Charlotte and her dad will head to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne this week for a video EEG that will monitor her for multiple days.

This will help doctors exactly what is happening inside her brain when she experiences a seizure.

Charlotte, who also has autism, has a “very interrupted life” due to her condition.

“This year, she has only managed half a week of school at any time,” Mr Robertson.

“We don’t know it any other way and … I try to look at all the positives.”

The pair are hoping to Make March Purple to raise awareness and funds for the Epilepsy Foundation.

World Purple Day is on March 26 and recognises people impacted by epilepsy.

Originally published as Geelong West girl Charlotte Robertson’s battle with epilepsy