Much like her character Possum TV show Go Girls, Brittany Wakelin doesn’t let much hold her back. Dashing around her parents’ Auckland home, the gorgeous 15-year-old actress is bubbly and full of beans as she tries on outfits, grinning at a particularly bright ensemble.
You’d never guess Brittany has lived with epilepsy for more than half of her short life – a form that causes her to have seizures and stop breathing in her sleep.
“I’ve never really noticed the seriousness of it. I think it’s more scary for my parents and my sister Abbie,” she says. Mum Alie agrees. “It is much harder for the people who see it happen or are with Britt at the time of a seizure. It can be quite frightening.
The hardest part of her form of epilepsy is that we don’t know when she’s had or is having a seizure. I used to lie awake at night listening, jumping up at the slightest sound and going to check on Britt.”
Diagnosed when she was five, Alie says Brittany’s first seizure left her and husband Greg in shock as they watched, their daughter shaking violently. “Her eyes rolled back in her head and she was in the foetal position, convulsing,” Alie recalls.
“The worst part was that she held her breath and stopped breathing. As soon as it was over, she went limp and straight back to sleep. We just sat stunned and mortified. “I had seen it before with a little boy I used to nanny, but it shook Greg to the core to see his baby that way and to feel so helpless,” she says.
Brittany was diagnosed with rolandic epilepsy, a childhood condition that usually occurs at around three to five years of age. Sufferers usually grow out of it as they approach adulthood. “It was a huge relief knowing what it was, but after discussions with doctors, we decided the medications available would probably have more side effects than the seizures,” says Alie.
“We didn’t want to hold her back. Britt was always such an outgoing child. We either had affected what I want to do, or had a big impact on my life,” she says.
“I’d get embarrassed when my mum would explain it to my friends and their parents so they knew what to do if I had one, because [with a seizure] I’d dribble and roll my eyes back – not the nicest look! Thank goodness I never had one while sleeping over anywhere.”
“That was always our biggest fear with this form of epilepsy,” says Alie, “how Britt’s friends and their parents would deal with it, and if they’d get freaked out and she wouldn’t be included. But they’ve all been really understanding and caring.
“The best thing anyone can do for someone with epilepsy is treat them like anyone else and if they suffer a seizure, be there for them when they ‘return’. We always explained Britt’s epilepsy to her as her body’s way of rebooting – just like a computer does when something isn’t how it should be or needs protecting.”
Even though it’s thought Brittany has grown out of the disorder, stress and tiredness can still trigger a seizure. “We’re really lucky Britt is so outgoing and confident that she can deal with it all,” Alie says.
“Yeah, but I did used to get embarrassed with it. At least I wasn’t a reserved child!” Brittany jokes.
Her seizures definitely haven’t affected her role as Possum on Go Girls. “The cast and crew are so awesome. I’ve grown up on the set – they’re like my family now,” she grins. “Britt even texts Brownyn on Mother’s Day,” Alie says of Brittany’s on-screen mum Brownyn Turei.
As for her epilepsy, Brittany is glad it’s hopefully all over and is looking forward to many more incident-free sleepovers. “I’m just really happy I don’t have to live with it now,” she says.
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