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10 Headlines As all young people experience during puberty, hormones change and so too does your body and personality. For Keri Teavae it was a bit more than just body changes though, she developed epilepsy at the age of 12. Keri’s life changed at that moment. She had never been diagnosed before puberty hit, but she persevered and managed it with medicine, learning to live with her new condition. Keri graduated high school and completed her Bachelor of Science with honours in 1988, and then her Masters in 1991. She was passionate about the future and wanted to be a chemist, studying analytical and environmental chemistry. After graduating, Keri moved from her hometown of Dunedin to Taupo to work for the Marine and Freshwater Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). For two years, Keri worked for the unit as a water chemist. Like a lot of young New Zealanders, she saved up enough money to travel overseas. After travelling through Australia and eastern Asia, Keri went to the UK. She worked as a consultant where she would check in on some of the elderly people in her area, drive them to appointments, run errands, and make sure they had everything they needed. On the afternoon of 12 August 1994, Keri was driving one of her clients to the doctors not far from where this person lived. Two days later, Keri woke up to find herself in the hospital, having been in a coma. Keri had suffered an epileptic seizure that afternoon, resulting in a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), but also the death of the passenger. When asked how this accident changed her life Keri says, “In a major way. I was studying in chemistry and now … [The accident] took me completely out of that. Looking and trying to find work – I have the ability to do a lot of things – but it’s difficult to find a job because I can only work part-time due to the medication I am on now.” That tragedy 27 years ago will stay with Keri for the rest of her life. This year will mark the 25th year that Keri and her family have chosen to donate to the Neurological Foundation. For Keri, the Neurological Foundation plays an important role in providing her answers. Acceptance Keri Teavae's story “Research, as much as they can do with the money they get from donations, helps everyone like me.” But it’s more than just providing answers, Keri is a keen attendee at all of the events the Foundation puts on to make sure she can learn as much as she can about other neurological conditions. The Foundation offers her a way to remain connected to a community of people who accept her for who she is. “Realising that it’s quite a common condition and should be accepted more …Why do people hide it away so much? Why don’t they accept people [with this condition]? It’s frustrating to not be accepted.” With our supporters’ help the Neurological Foundation has so far funded $2.4M towards epilepsy research. It is Keri’s hope, like ours, that through research there will be answers and breakthroughs to help people like her.