Today was the day! I spoke on a panel with a neurologist and nurse to about 50 medical school students and nursing students! I was originally told there were going to be about 200-400 people there and was relieved when I got there to see there were only 50. The fact that there were less people made it easier and less stressful for me, but at the same time it would have been great if I could educated even more people. That's okay though, 50 people is a lot and educating people about Tourette's ins't simply a one day thing! I educate people on a regular basis!
Anyway, today I was excited to help future doctors and nurses understand more about Tourette's! I got tons of great questions and answered them as honestly as I could. I talked about my diagnosis process, CBIT, medication, how I tell my classes about my TS, my experience in school with TS, and more! One lady asked me if I could drive, and even though I told her I could, the neurologist wasn't so sure that I convinced her, lol.
Afterwards , an older man came up to me and told me that he enjoyed the talk, that he now knows TS is so much more than swearing which he didn't know before, that he thought I was really in control of my life, was doing great a great job dealing with living with Tourette's, and that he loves the way I live my life. That made my day!
At the end, my neurologists nurse told me that she thinks everyone really enjoyed having me there and that I was really helpful. I felt really confident on stage and like I could just be myself. I'm proud of myself for spreading awareness and talking openly and confidently about my Tourette's in front of such a large group. Hopefully I made a difference :)
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