'He's been there when things got too much!' Telford grandad praised for incredible support of granddaughter with epilepsy
Georgia Swinney was studying Marine Biology at university when she was given a diagnosis of epilepsy that turned her life upside-down.
Not only did the seizures interrupt her studies, but they also impacted her personal life and so she made the difficult decision to return home to Shropshire.
Georgia, who was just 18 at the time, said: “After my second seizure, I made the difficult decision to move back. For the next year I felt hopeless. I had to give up everything I worked hard for.
"I stopped scuba training, I stopped going out, my mental health was worse than it had ever been. I watched all my friends achieve so much while I felt stagnant."
Thankfully, Georgia had a hero Grandad who supported her through every step of her epilepsy journey.
Known as G-Pa, Alan Davies, was there for his granddaughter through all of her crying episodes, every neurology appointment and even encouraged her to pursue medical research in the epilepsy field.
The 73-year-old from Telford has now received an Epilepsy Star award by national charity Epilepsy Action, for his unwavering support, care and encouragement of his granddaughter.
Georgia, who is now 23 said: “I nominated my grandfather as my Epilepsy Star because he has always been there to share the emotional burden of my epilepsy.
"Without him I would be struggling with my mental health, I wouldn’t have been able to carry on at university and he has given me the confidence to do further medical research.
"I don’t think I will ever be able to put the impact he has had on my life into words, but I’ll try my best."
The diagnosis and medication process was really difficult for Georgia.
