Linda Newman got spanked by her parents for daydreaming as a child.
When she continued to blank out for seconds at a time, they sought medical help.
“They took me to every kind of doctor there was,” Newman said. “A pediatrician in Milwaukee discovered I had epilepsy.”
The doctor put her on a special high-fat, low-carb diet that helps control seizures in some people. Newman ate a stick of butter and more than a cup of cream daily for more than three years.
Today, the 64-year-old Janesville woman takes medicine to control her seizures. She drives, has a family and leads a busy life. She knows firsthand how misunderstanding can make life harder for someone with epilepsy and works to dispel myths about the illness.
