Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Seizure control keeps mum safe

By Kiri Gillespie
Bay of Plenty Times·
12 Aug, 2013 01:30 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

When Sonya Birch-Kaiwai became too afraid to hold her baby girl for fear of dropping her, she knew she had to face her demons.

The Te Puke mother of seven has epilepsy, something she managed to keep hidden for years. But when Ms Birch-Kaiwai gave birth to baby Santana six months ago, the seizures returned so violently that Ms Birch-Kaiwai was forced to reassess things.

"I'd not long given her to her dad to look after for a little while and I ended up going to hospital because I'd smashed my face on the towbar."

Ms Birch-Kaiwai, who damaged her front teeth as part of that seizure, is one of an estimated 2500 people with epilepsy in the Tauranga and Whakatane area.

After seeking help, Ms Birch-Kaiwai has been invited to join a Bay of Plenty Support Trust set up by Epilepsy Foundation New Zealand, in response to a need for support in the region and to break stigma attached to the condition.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I never thought the one thing I hated most in my life would be the thing that would make me a better person. It's pretty cool."

The 32-year-old has taken medication for her epilepsy since she was a child but stopped in her late teens, convinced it was responsible for her two to three seizures every week. Since then she has only suffered the odd seizure each year until the driveway episode.

"I brushed it off, you know, but on my daughter's birthday not long after I had twitches. I spent most of my day in my room. I was worried I might drop my baby because the twitches were affecting my arms," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She wants others to also take control and ask for help.

"If there's anyone else with epilepsy out there needing help, it's there. All they need to do is ask."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Offensive': Toilet plan near memorial seat sparks protest

Bay of Plenty Times

'Go one better': Bay of Plenty Steamers fired up for NPC season

Bay of Plenty Times

Feet first: Why two men are walking from Auckland to Te Puke


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Offensive': Toilet plan near memorial seat sparks protest
Bay of Plenty Times

'Offensive': Toilet plan near memorial seat sparks protest

Father accuses council of lacking sensitivity when choosing new toilet site.

19 Jul 08:15 PM
'Go one better': Bay of Plenty Steamers fired up for NPC season
Bay of Plenty Times

'Go one better': Bay of Plenty Steamers fired up for NPC season

19 Jul 06:09 PM
Feet first: Why two men are walking from Auckland to Te Puke
Bay of Plenty Times

Feet first: Why two men are walking from Auckland to Te Puke

19 Jul 02:23 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP