CARLTON champion Brett Ratten was on his way to be announced as St Kilda coach in 2019 when his family found out that the seizures daughter Tilly was having every day were the result of epilepsy.
Tilly, who is now 12, would experience up to 30 seizures a day before her diagnosis with right frontal lobe epilepsy, which provided clarity on how she could be treated with medication.
Ratten shared his daughter's story on AFL.com.au's Between Us this week, telling hosts Nat Edwards and Sarah Olle about the moment he found out about Tilly's diagnosis and his mission to help raise awareness and support for people living with epilepsy.
The former Carlton, St Kilda and North Melbourne coach gave a parent's perspective on supporting a child with epilepsy, which will affect one in every 25 people in Australia during their life.
"Her seizures are a little bit different. We didn't know if it was absentee epilepsy or focal epilepsy. Her head went to the side, and then you would see the whites of her eyes and she would stop and freeze and pause for 20 or 30 seconds," Ratten said.
"She would have up to 30 a day, but then when the medication came in, it started to affect her balance, so she started to fall over.
"Your heart goes out to think, 'Could you give it to me?' And then I can deal with it. But you can't."
Tilly's diagnosis allowed her to receive the treatment and medication she needed. However, finding the right medication and dealing with side effects can be a lengthy and complicated process for people living with epilepsy.
"The good part was we found out what it was, so then you can start the process of trying to deal with it," Ratten said.
"We were quite fortunate it took around three months and then the seizures started to stop. That was great.
"At one point the medication kicked in and the seizures stopped, and we’ve been fortunate since."
Ratten, who is now Hawthorn's head of coaching performance and development, is an ambassador for the Epilepsy Foundation and has been creating awareness and raising money through this year's Walk for Epilepsy.
In an open interview with Edwards and Olle, he also spoke about the support he received from the football community after the tragic death of son Cooper in 2015, and how a simple message helps at a time like that.
"Some days I can say his name and nothing, I'm OK, and then other days I say his name and it's waterworks everywhere," Ratten said.
"He's not with us but he's with us every day."
