Cycle of life

Brisbane architect Rhys Williams tells Priscilla Leong of his unconventional journey from the floor of an airport to the top of a mountain.

Recently something happened that changed your life… tell us about it.
Last April my girlfriend and I were heading overseas on a four week holiday to England. We’d arrived at Brisbane airport and my girlfriend was handing over the tickets when I suddenly fell over, hitting my head on the counter. There was a lot of shaking, a lot of noises. Next thing I knew I was in intensive care, it was the following afternoon and I was coming out of a coma. I’d had another seizure on the way to hospital. They weren’t sure if it was an epileptic seizure or if it was because I had cracked my skull open in the fall. I’d stopped breathing and they’d resuscitated me twice.

What was your diagnosis?
At first the doctors were stumped. One doctor finally said, ‘Well, I think he has epilepsy.’ Later on an EEG confirmed it, even though I’ve only ever had the one seizure. The diagnosis was a complete shock. I was 28 and played a lot of sports. I was working 60 to 70 hours a week. And the week before I planned to go overseas I was pulling 80 hours to get everything done. The doctors think the seizure was actually triggered by stress and lack of sleep.

How did you handle the initial shock?
I immediately asked some friends to find what on earth ‘epilepsy’ was because I didn’t have a clue! The hospital wasn’t able to provide a great deal in terms of information and support. My friends jumped on the web and came back the next day with half an A4 ream worth of reading material. But it wasn’t enough. I became very depressed and down about work and relationships.

I was back at work about two months later when I went to see Claire Lisle, Epilepsy Action’s educator in Brisbane. That was the best thing I ever did! She’s great. She cheered me up a lot and gave me some good advice.

The other thing that helped keep me sane was riding my bike.

How did cycling help you get back on your feet?
As soon as I returned to work, I started riding my bike because I couldn’t drive there. Luckily I got my licence back in three months. But I set myself a goal: to train as much as I could and enter my first mountain biking event. A bunch of good mates and I started our own little team. And four months after that seizure, I competed in my first 12-hour mountain bike race. Since then, I’ve competed in a 24-hour race which involves our team taking turns doing laps for 24 hours on a mountain-bike track. Now I’m training for more races at the end of this year. I hope to start downhill racing soon but I’m taking that slowly because it’s more dangerous.

How else has your life changed since that day?
I’ve changed jobs to work somewhere less stressful with fewer hours. I’m now just about to move to a bigger firm with better money and better training. Upfront I say to employers “I’ve got epilepsy.” They all say “that’s fine.”

What advice do you have for others diagnosed with epilepsy?
It helps to take it on as a challenge and try to beat it. Go for it. Never give up. And focus on the positives. I nearly died and it gave me a real wake-up call to appreciate the small things in life. Like spending time with family and doing what I want to do.

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