Seize Your Adventure

Celebrate good times! December 5th 2023 marks five years since Seize Your Adventure - the podcast sharing stories of adventure and outdoor living with a focus on epilepsy - was launched. After a hiatus, to mark the show's fifth anniversary Fran is revisiting five monumental episodes. Fran reflects on her interview with Becky Samson, who cycled across Australia while managing her epilepsy. She also...

I've delved deep into the archives for this one! Back in 2019, I had a taster session with Archery Fit as part of my 30 at 30 challenge. During the session, I learned the basics of using a bow, and afterwards I sat down with the co-owner, Roman. We had a little chat about archery, and in particular how it’s a very accessible sport for people with conditions such as epilepsy. FIND OUT MORE ABO...

26th March is Purple Day! The international day of epilpesy awareness when people raise awareness of what it's like to live with epilepsy. Seize Your Adventure is already dedicated to raising awareness of how peole live iwth epilepsy and enjoy adventures and outdoor living. A lot of work goes into the podcast - and a lot gets taken out! Here's your chance to hear a few outtakes from the...

Hello Adventurers! And I can't quite believe it but it has been 3 years since I launched the Seize Your Adventure podcast.  Who knew that a podcast about epilepsy in adventure sports would have such longevity? And whilst I have been abandoning you all ever so slightly, I wanted to mark this 3-year anniversary with something a little bit special. And so, I have decided to start releasing the P...

ello Adventurers! Seize Your Adventure has been quite, I know. But there is a good reason for that... Adventurers - let me introduce you to my new podcast: On The Outside!  We need to talk about the outdoors. Not just the epic stories, but the important news, the big events and the social issues that permeate the whole of the outdoors. This show is for anyone who spends their time outdoors in the...

Back in June, I had the honour of being invited on to PODCASTER for a slightly different type of interview... Hosted by V, the Voice of Pod, podcast hosts take a seat in the Podcaster chair, to answer random questions about life and the podcast they have created. I've done a few interviews now - this was one of the most fun and soul-searching! Do go check them out: Follow Podcaster: Twitter:...

Over the years I have written many articles about adventuring with epilepsy. I wanted to share this one with you because it does not focus on the epilepsy side of things, but rather it was a nice reminder of what adventure can bring to you. How do you have small adventures? Can you have an adventure close to home? And after years of asking other people what adventure means to them, I try to answer...

This short Q&A with Martin follows on from the Article he read for us at the start of the month. We talked about the types of adventurous activities Martin likes to do, what he would say to someone else who has an epilepsy diagnosis, and - of course - what adventure means to him!  Find out more about Martin: https://epilepsytraveller.home.blog/   https://www.instagram.com/epilepsytraveller/  ...

This is the second Articles episode!  Martin had his first tonic-clonic seizure when he was 10 years old, whilst playing a recorder in a music lesson. Since then, he has lived with epilepsy and seizures. In secondary school, he was told he could not go on a ski-trip because of this epilepsy - not once but twice. But when Martin left school, a friend at work suggested that they should start travell...

Episode 2 follows on from Cameron's Article - Learning from Surfing with Epilepsy. Those of you who are very attentive to the Seize Your Adventure feed might well recognise this episode. Due to an issue with my hosting, my Patron-only episodes suddenly went public for a bit - including this Q&A! And I saw many of you downloading it, I started thinking about my offering for Season 3. After...

Welcome to the first The Articles episode! Is surfing with epilepsy dangerous? What happens if you have a seizure in the water? This is something we hear about in Cameron's story.  CW: Cameron goes into detail on the consequences of having a seizure in water whilst he's surfing. So please bear in mind that some of the content and descriptions might be upsetting.  Frankie and I discuss th...

Introducing: The Articles FRAN: You’re listening to The Articles from Seize Your Adventure. [Sound of waves breaking] Season 3 of SYA is going to sound a little bit different. The articles are simple stories taken from across the internet and read by the person that wrote them. [Wave sound increases] CAMERON: I remember the first time the instructor said I was ready to paddle into a wave unassiste...

Surprise episode for your audio feed! This bonus episode has come from the Patreon feed. I wanted you all to listen to this one today, not only as a bit of encouragement to head over to patreon.com/seizeyouradventure if you are missing the podcast... but also because it shares some information on what Season 3 of the podcast is going to sound like. For December's Patron episode, I waited unti...

"How would you feel if you had a seizure again? Could you emotionally and mentally handle it? Would it feel like everything was falling apart? Would epilepsy have control?” WARNING: This episode contains a graphic descriptions and creative depiction of what it feels like to Jade when she has a seizure. For 2 years, this podcast has been sharing stories from adventurous people with epilepsy. A...

The Seize Your Adventure podcast is 2 years old! Join me in the celebrations with a Happy Birthday, some facts and stats about the last 2 years, and a return to where it all started in West Texas with Jade Nelson... The facts and stats: -The first episode of the podcast went live on 3rd December 2018 -But the trailer launched on November 5th 2018 -There are 32 episodes in the back-catalogue -Inclu...

Is it safe to surf with epilepsy? How can you support somebody who has seizures  in the water?  And do surfing instructors know how to help someone with epilepsy? In this episode, Frankie York takes us through some of her own experiences surfing with epilepsy, and how having epilepsy affects her relationships with other surfers. Surfing is classified as a top tier extreme sport, with inherent dang...

Back in July, Seize Your Adventure grew a little bit bigger. Francesca York (who luckily goes by Frankie to stop any confusion!) has volunteered her help over the next few months as an SYA Intern and it will be great to get her fresh eyes/ears on things. This episode shares the Instagram LIVE conversation me and Frankie had back in August, where we got to learn a little bit more about her, and how...

Chris is an Epilepsy Education & Outreach Worker for the British Columbia Epilepsy Society and in summer last year Chris also raised money for BCES by cycling from Prince George to Jasper - a distance of 375KM - in just two days. (N.B. I can't add up and in the podcast I say 275KM... Sorry Chris!) Chris is a hardcore adventurer. I was introduced to Chris about a year ago, via the British...

In this bonus episode we get to hear some more of my chat with mom, wife, teacher and blogger, Jewel Gibson. I asked Jewel to tell me a bit more about the specifics of have a baby when you have epilepsy. Last time, we heard about Jewel’s path to an epilepsy diagnosis, and her personal challenge of running the New York Half Marathon to raise epilepsy awareness. We also heard that Jewel is diagnosed...

Jewel Gibson is a mom, a wife, a teacher,  and a blogger from Brooklyn, New York. Her Instagram and blog, Life's A Jewel, focuses on motherhood and encouraging women to live healthier lives, experience fulfilling relationships and conquer parenthood fashionably. She also uses her platform to talk about the day-to-day challenges navigating a seizure disorder. Jewel was an athlete and runner in...

On Tuesday 19th May, I handed over the Seize Your Adventure Instagram account to Cath Shanks,  a skate coach who was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy in 2010. In this bonus episode, you get to hear how it went, and listen to the Instagram Live interview we had afterwards. I've only discovered Cath recently, and her account @specialeptic is still new. But the account is a mix of great fun...

For Jared Muscat, surfing has been a passion, an obsession, and in his own words an addiction, since he was a teenager. Surfing was part of what led Jared to his current job working for the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. And it was on Patagonia’s blog that I first read some of Jared’s story about surfing with epilepsy, his hard epilepsy diagnosis and journey, and a paddleboarding challenge he...

Annie Brooks, is a blogger and Youtuber from the award-winning blog Tales of Annie Bean , a website and video channel that covers fitness, travel, lifestyle and  (of course) adventure! Annie was diagnosed with epilepsy in the form of complex partial seizures back in 2012, so a lot of her blog journey has been about learning to be active with the condition. She recently took on 12 in 12 challenges...

Enjoy this quick bonus episode from Jamie Wissinger, host of the epilepsy podcast '1 in 26' . I thought it was about time to share some official Seizure First Aid , and asked Jamie to share her knowledge as an official trainer. B e Calm R emove Dangerous Objects A lways Time the Seizure I f the person falls, turn them on their side N ever put anything in their mouth As well as hosting 1...

"Having a chronic condition such as epilepsy consistently prevents individuals from participating in sport. For someone with epilepsy the fear of making the condition worse, sustaining injury or even dying (Kale, 1997) are regularly quoted as reasons for very low participation levels, known to be as low as half that of the general population (Han, Choi-Kwon and Lee, 2011).” Ian Johnston was a...