As November marks National Epilepsy Awareness Month, Fatima Sana Shaikh, who also suffers from it, raised awareness about the disease through social media. On Sunday, November 13, the actress shared her experiences and also asked others suffering from it to share theirs on Instagram.
Elaborating on her own experience, when a follower asked her how she discovered that she had epilepsy, Fatima said it was during the shooting of Dangal. “I came to know about my epilepsy while shooting for Dangal. I had an episode during practice, lost my senses and opened my eyes in the hospital. I kept ignoring it for the first 5 years. But now I have to be careful about it,” shared Fatima.
On being told by a fan that an epilepsy patient is made to smell a stinking shoe, the actor responded to him, "This is a myth. Please aisa mat karna (please don't do this). Already it's traumatic to come out of a seizure. Last thing you want is to wake up to a stinking shoe! Hahaha! People have done this to me! (vomit emojis) Horrible!"
Speaking about how she has been working with this condition, the actor wrote that she informs all her directors that she has epilepsy. “They have always been very supportive and understanding. They know of the challenges they might face on the days I get an episode.”
For the unversed, Epilepsy is a central nervous system (neurological) disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures or periods of unusual behavior, sensations and sometimes loss of awareness. Anyone can develop epilepsy. Epilepsy affects both males and females of all races, ethnic backgrounds and ages.
(Source: Instagram)
