For people with epilepsy, failing to take medication can be more dangerous than epilepsy itself.

That's what Cari Ward found out as a teenager. She told her story Dec. 2 at a meeting of Epilepsy Advocates, people living with epilepsy who talk about their experiences with others. The meeting was sponsored by UCB Pharma, a maker of epilepsy drugs such as Keppra, which Ward and other panelists are taking.

Ward was diagnosed at 16 with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, which caused her to twitch. She had experienced these twitches for years, but never thought of them as epilepsy. Then, Ward had two major seizures, including one where her mother witnessed her falling to the bathroom floor. That's when she saw a doctor.

"It was not until my doctor asked me, 'have you ever experienced any jerking motions?' that it dawned on me the pattern of jerks I had experienced was seizure-related. My body had been warning me with these little signs, all along," she said.

Ward was eventually put on Keppra.

"My seizures were under control and I could enjoy myself with family and friends," Ward said. "I felt so normal that I thought I was fine. … I actually convinced myself that I didn't have to worry about having another seizure."

That denial, including skipping her medication, lasted until she was 18. She had finished a night of baby-sitting when she tried to drive home.

"When I reached for the door handle of my shiny red Firebird, I felt my hand slightly twitch and jerk," Ward said. "I brushed it off as nothing, even though I knew this jerking was the exact kind of seizure I had experienced before."

Ward never got home in her car. She had a seizure, and awoke to find the car had crashed into a utility pole, a short distance from a pond. She was shaken but uninjured.

"That was my wake-up call," said Ward, who resumed taking her medication and accepted that epilepsy was part of her life. But it's not defining her life. Now 21, Ward is a fourth-year college student, looking forward to a career and a family.

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.