Jasmine’s Story

Hi there, my name is Jasmine Martin and I want to start by saying I am a firm believer that
everything happens for a reason. I was 27 years old when I was first diagnosed with epilepsy
and seizures. For about a month prior, I started to feel very off, very drained and had little to no
energy. I thought I was probably just low in vitamins. Turns out there was a much bigger reason.
When I first had my seizure, I never would’ve guessed how much my life was about to change
and after spending 4 days in the hospital, I was shown and told that it was because of a very
large tumour on the left side of my brain.

Of course I was shocked to hear that, but I do think life almost prepared me for this journey.
Long before this happened, I learned the significance of positivity and optimism and heavily
believed in mind over matter. This worked out well for me as right after I was told about my
tumour, I was also told that there were solutions.

From the start of my journey, medication cured me from Grand Mal seizures but after my biopsy
surgery, I still had Focal seizures. At first they felt like dizzy spells but the more I had the worse
they started to feel as my brain became more aggravated and swollen. Every seizure affected
my vision, my vocabulary and my right motor skills, the more I had, the longer it took to recover
from. At first everything still seemed very doable but as time went on, it took a big toll on my
body. Regardless of how difficult this was, nothing was going to stop me from staying positive
and still finding a way to be happy. 11 months later, I had my Craniotomy surgery and my
tumour was removed.

Despite how severe this tumour was, I consider myself incredibly lucky. As hard and challenging
as it was to go through this experience, I was surrounded by the most loving and supportive
family and friends, I had the most amazing Neurosurgeons and I just truly believed no matter
what happened, I was going to be okay. After having my tumour removed, I haven’t had a single
seizure, I have my clarity back and I have learned so much information about epilepsy and
seizures and now aim to help spread information and awareness.

Jasmine M.

Kind words you would like to share with a parent or someone newly diagnosed:
One of the best things I learned from this is that even though all of our experiences might be
different, that doesn’t mean we ever have to feel like we are alone. It might seem hard but we
can still live our lives and find happiness. To help provide support and spread information and
awareness, I created Seize The Day Foundation. I hope to remind everyone that no matter what
we are going through, we can still find a way to seize every single day. Because of how much
they did for me, I also encourage donations that go directly to Vancouver General Hospital, as
they have BC’s only Seizure investigation Unit and can provide so much help to others.
Please donate at https://join.vghfoundation.ca/seizetheday

Connect with Jasmine:
Email: seizethedayfoundation@gmail.com
Instagram: @seizethedayfoundation
Website: https://www.seizethedayfoundation.com/