“I definitely felt targeted because of my epilepsy,” Alexandra says. “I was kind of labeled ‘the weak one.’”

She learned to identify what was most likely to trigger her seizures, but her work environment kept presenting challenges. For example, a lack of sleep may contribute to her seizures, but she was scheduled to launch a new client website at midnight on a Sunday, and then expected to be at the office the next morning. Alcohol use was another potential trigger for seizures. Yet the company assigned her to handle an account for Scotch whiskey, which required her to sample the product with clients.

“The corporate setting can be very hard without someone to have your back,” she says.

The uncontrolled epilepsy, combined with a negative workplace, eventually prompted Alexandra to leave the corporate world. She used her time to look for ways to tell her story and promote epilepsy awareness. She reached out to the local chapter of the Epilepsy Foundation and offered to help. Grateful to find someone willing to share her experiences, the foundation connected her with speaking opportunities.

There was really no one talking about it, and I was willing to talk about it, and I had time on my hands,” Alexandra explains. “The more I talked about it, the more opportunities came my way.”