The positive press officer!

Diagnosed with a serious form of epilepsy, the then Coleraine councillor and Translink driver had to leave his livelihood and face a battle of coming to terms with the serious illness. But 17 years on the DUP man has no hesitations in saying the complex partial temporal lobe form he was told would stay with him for life, was the one of the best things to happen to him.

"My mother thinks it is dreadful when I say epilepsy is the best thing to have ever happened to me. It sent me down a complete new course and sent me back to education."

David, who works for DUP East Londonderry MLA and Limavady Borough Alderman George Robinson, has spoken out about his previous struggle with the illness in the aftermath of National Epilepsy week. The 47 year-old has previously helped others including families and young people to come to terms with the illness, with Epilepsy Action in Northern Ireland. Since his diagnosis, David has studied at Magee University. gaining a 2:1 degree in Social Policy and Sociology and also became a counsellor for Epilepsy Action in Northern Ireland.

"There are very few people like me who are prepared to stand up and say; 'I have epilepsy and look what I have achieved'. That's not being big headed, that's being practical. There's nothing special about me," David told the Sentinel.

"I'll be honest the first six or seven months there was little positive thinking. I'm a great believer in looking at the positives in life, right well I can't drive but I can do this. You take the positive of what you can do and you build the best possible life for yourself."

David was diagnosed in 1993 after taking a fit at home after a shift at work. There was no history of the disorder in his family and no indicator as to what brought on the seizures.

"It came out of the blue, literally. It was a bit of a body blow because obviously your licence is taken away. Once theirs a definite diagnosis the doctors have to notify DVLNI, it's a legal requirement. So that was the livelihood out the window."

"I remember sitting and crying which might sound silly but I had been diagnosed in September and the letter came through at the beginning of December so it wasn't easy to take. I was also sitting on Coleraine Council at the time."

It took almost two-and-a-half years for doctors to find the right combination of medication for former councillor's medication, which resulted in months of extreme side-effects.

"I was lost, I think that is the only word. I wasn't able to do the same things. I had to resign from my council seat because I wasn't able to do the job. And I am a great believer that if you are there you are going to do the job as best as you possibly can and I wasn't able to do that. The people that had elected me deserved better quite honestly but it also took the pressure away and I was able to settle down to get my health right."

"I was one of the few difficult cases. Then again it was very rare that someone at 30 years-of-age develops epilepsy. My case came completely out of the blue - there's no history of it in my family and I suppose a lot of the time I had to put a brave face on and think of my parents who were getting a tough time too. In private moments it was hard to take."

In 2001 the DUP man completed an access course at the Northern Regional College in Coleraine, and gained enough results to get into Magee. It was then when David realised the positive effect the diagnosis had on his life."

"Ten months after I graduated to the day I got offered the job with George, so there's a positive message out there for people. It's not the end of the world, you can succeed."

"The first day that struck me was when I went up to Stormont with George. Everyone has this great image of the hall and the staircase and as I was walking up the stairs I was thinking 'this isn't real'. That is when it dawned on me that I had actually done this I had achieved."

In three years David has missed just four days off work. "And that was down to the flu." laughed David. He hopes his message will strike with anyone else suffering epilepsy and make them realise their potential is not limited due to diagnosis.

"It is something you either get used to or you don't and as I said before I believe in looking at the positives in life. Epilepsy Action run a group both in Foyle and Coleraine and provide great services to those who are suffering from or know someone suffering from epilepsy. They can get you the information you need and help you and your family through what's going on. You can meet people in exactly the same situation as yourself and talk things through."

David adds: "There's a hesitation with epilepsy. It's not talked about and it's not socially acceptable. Some people quite honestly think you are mad and should be locked up. This is the kind of stigma that needs to go away."

For mor information on epilepsy visit www.epilepsy.org.uk