A FALL in the shower that resulted in smashed teeth, severe concussion and whiplash made Edinburgh barista Tom Davies finally get to grips with his condition.

Diagnosed with epilepsy when he was just 15 years old, he saw it as a weakness and handled it badly for years. The 27-year-old admits that it wasn’t until he fell in the shower in October 2014 that he faced up to it properly and decided not only to manage his health better but also try to raise awareness and dispel the stigma that still often clings to those with the condition. As a result, he will be speaking at Epilepsy Scotland’s Cabaret Evening at the Village Hotel Club in Glasgow as part of Purple Day for Epilepsy.

Elsewhere in Scotland, landmarks will turn purple at twilight to raise awareness about epilepsy which affects one in 97 people – more than all those with Type 1 diabetes, Parkinson’s, MS and HIV combined.

Purple Day was founded in Canada in 2008 by nine-year-old Cassidy Megan who has epilepsy and wanted to take action against the stigma and embarrassment that often surrounds seizures. The lack of understanding means epilepsy is often kept as a hidden condition.

As a result, a diagnosis can be a tremendous blow, particularly for teenagers who may not realise they can still lead a normal life.

This was the case for Davies who suffered his first full seizure (called a tonic clonic) when he was on holiday in Germany when he was 15.

“It was a terrifying experience and after I returned home I was officially diagnosed after many tests,” he said.

Davies was told he had juvenile myoclonic epilepsy in which seizures are often triggered by lack of sleep.

“I remember the exact moment the doctor sat down with me and my family and explained that I had epilepsy. I didn’t want to believe it and saw it as a weakness. I didn’t want to tell anyone, especially my close friends.

“I was diagnosed at the age where you start staying out late, which didn’t help. It really became an issue once I turned 18 and started to go out to pubs and clubs. Alcohol has an effect on the medication I take, so when you add that to late nights I went through a stage of having seizures quite often, mainly down to my own mismanagement of the condition.”

Each seizure is a “terrifying” experience for all those who have them, according to Davies.

“For me personally it’s not the seizure itself but the fall and subsequently hitting things that make a seizure bad. My last one in the shower really stuck out for me because I was found by really close friends who were extremely shaken by it.

"That particular experience gave me a jolt in my perception of the condition. It really altered my thinking about how epilepsy is perceived not only by those who suffer from it but also by those who do not.”

At today's Cabaret Evening he hopes he can help people understand what it is like to live with epilepsy.

“It’s taken me 12 years and several episodes to get to a stage where I am fully at ease talking about the condition and can help new and existing sufferers get to a point where they don’t feel alone or scared by having epilepsy. One thing that I keep focused on is if I could speak now to myself when I was diagnosed at 15, I know for a fact what a help it would have been.

“I know now that I need to respect the condition in order to get to grips with it otherwise the consequences can be dreadful. Currently, I am 18 months seizure-free and, touch wood, all will continue to go well,” said Davies, who has just been appointed an ambassador for the Epilepsy Scotland charity. “I’ve come through a lot with epilepsy and almost feel responsible for raising the bar for awareness and helping to knock down the stigma that exists.”

This is the third year of the charity’s Turn Scotland Purple Campaign which will see the iconic Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel lit up along with McCaig’s Tower in Oban, Marischal College in Aberdeen, Kilmarnock Station Clock, Ness Bridge in Inverness and Burns Tower in Mauchline. Other places turning purple will be the Titan Crane and three Hovis sites in Glasgow. The company is also promoting Purple Day and epilepsy awareness on the packaging for Mothers’ Pride loaves till mid-July.

Ayr United football team will wear their purple-and-white away team strip at today's home game against Stranraer will have purple tones and there will be purple sheep at the Pyramids Business Park at Bathgate.

There will also be a “thunderclap” which will go live at noon today.

“Epilepsy affects around 55,000 people in Scotland yet it remains a Cinderella condition,” said Epilepsy Scotland’s chief executive Lesslie Young. “Turning as many of our Scottish landmarks purple this weekend helps us to raise awareness and to create an interest among the general public.”

See www.thunderclap.it/projects/37058-epilepsy-is-more-than-seizures. For more information about epilepsy and the Turn Scotland Purple Campaign go to www.epilepsyscotland.org.uk.

The charity’s freephone helpline is 0808 800 2200, email helpline@epilepsyscotland.org.uk or text 07786 209 501.