Chanda Gunn

From Epilepsy to the Olympics: The Chanda Gunn Story

By: Michele Bloomquist

Despite all the attention paid to her illness during the 2006 Olympic Games, USA women's ice-hockey team goalie Chanda Gunn, 25, says epilepsy isn't something she defines herself by.

"If you asked me to pick five words to describe myself, epilepsy probably wouldn't be on that list," she says.

And yet, Gunn, a spokesperson for Epilepsy.com, says there's no denying that epilepsy is a part of her life story, a part of who she is.

An Incredible Journey

Gunn's journey from diagnosis to world champion and then Olympic athlete hasn't been without obstacles.

At the age of nine, when Gunn's sights were set on surfing and swimming — not ice hockey — her fourth-grade teacher began voicing concerns about some odd behavior.

"My teachers were the first to notice that something was going on," she recalls. "One time I remember sitting in class with everyone else, and then suddenly I was sitting in the room by myself and couldn't remember what had happened. Everyone else had gone to gym."

Without warning, Gunn's brain would seem to simply switch into "pause" mode and she would sit in a trancelike state, unaware of what was happening around her.

A day of testing prompted by her teacher's concerns ended with her parents looking very upset and doctors talking in earnest tones about something called epilepsy.

"I don't think I really understood at the time what it meant for me, long-term," she says. "I didn't know what having epilepsy meant."

The only part of the conversation Gunn remembers understanding was that the girl who practically lived in the water wouldn't be going swimming anymore.

A Twist of Fate

Yet, ironically, those hours not spent in the water would leave space in her schedule to discover the sport that would someday have Gunn standing on an Olympic platform with a bronze medal around her neck.

"In a way, having epilepsy has been a blessing," Gunn says. "It's given me as much in life as it has taken away."v

Gunn became hooked on hockey after playing a few games of the street version with her younger brother and his friends. Soon she switched her attention to the ice, and Gunn flourished in the sport, which is traditionally thought of as a man's game.

Her choice to focus on the goalie position came out of a healthy dose of sibling rivalry — after all, someone had to block her brother's pucks from reaching the net, she says.

Gunn says her parents felt more at ease with their active daughter playing hockey than other sports, because the heavy padding and helmet would protect her if a seizure did occur on the ice.

In time, Gunn's illness would deal another twist of fate when after years of having her illness in check, uncontrolled grand mal seizures surfaced during her sophomore year at the University of Wisconsin.

As a result, she was admitted to the hospital, couldn't play ice hockey and lost her sports scholarship to the school.

Gunn recalls feeling devastated at the time by the blow that epilepsy had dealt once again.

"But in the end, that worked out too because I went to Northeastern University in Boston instead, and I went on to play on the women's national team and then the Olympics," she says. "Who knows — maybe that wouldn't have happened otherwise."

Managing One Day at a Time

Unlike those who can take antiseizure medications for a few years and then leave epilepsy behind, Gunn has had to accept that she will need to take her epilepsy medications every day for the rest of her life.

"Probably three times in my life I've had the seizures return, and I've had to go through the process of getting them back under control and adjusting my medications," she says. "Those were trying times."

Aside from those three separate, difficult periods when the seizures returned and Gunn had to go through the process of modifying her meds until she found the right combination, her daily regimen has kept her seizures under control for the most part. The occasional seizures still occur, but largely as a result of extenuating circumstances — like a bout of stomach flu that left her unable to keep down her medication.

Otherwise, she says, strictly adhering to her medication schedule and making healthy lifestyle choices — like getting lots of sleep and avoiding stress — have helped her gain control over the seizures that once plagued her several times a day.

"It's so much in the background now that I don't really notice it on a daily basis," she says of her illness.

Facing Her Fears

And while her illness doesn't dictate her life, there are certain circumstances that acutely remind Gunn of her condition. For example, the idea that she could have a seizure and accidentally cause harm to someone else remains the biggest fear Gunn has to face in relation to epilepsy.

"I work with children," she says. "And sometimes I worry what would happen if I had a seizure during that time. When I recently took care of a 14-year-old girl for two weeks, I worried that she could get hurt if I had a seizure while I was driving her to the airport, for example. I worry about hurting someone else like that."

Surprisingly, Gunn doesn't consider her athletic accolades — including silver and gold medals from the 2004 and 2005 World Championships, a silver medal from the 2005 Four Nations Cup and a bronze medal from the 2006 Olympic Games — her greatest accomplishments.

"Believe it or not, I'd consider that to be conquering my fear of public speaking," she says. "It is scary enough to have all eyes on you when you're speaking in public. But it's even scarier to think you could have a seizure during that time."

Her passion to raise awareness and to help others with epilepsy drove Gunn to conquer her fear. Today she's often found front and center, addressing large audiences in her role as spokesperson for the Epilepsy Therapy Development Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing new treatments for people living with epilepsy, and its resources and information Website, Epilepsy.com. She says such experiences have made her stronger.

"Epilepsy has been a part of my life for so long now, it's hard to say how much of who I am is because of that, versus other things," she says. "I am pretty resilient, and that may be because of the hurdles my condition has presented me."

When asked what others in her life have done to help make managing her illness easier, she replies, "Letting me be in control of my illness as much as possible."

Gunn said being allowed to take a lead role in her illness was especially important when she was a child.

"I would tell parents to involve their child in their own care as much as possible. Make sure they understand their illness and are participants," she says. "That way it feels like less of a handicap or something to hold you back."

When asked to look into her future, Gunn doesn't see herself slowing down any. She continues to teach hockey camps while training for this year's World Championship and the Four Nations Cup games.

As for if she will be there to guard the net at the next Olympic Games, Gunn says only time will tell.

"A lot can happen in four years," she says. "So I'm just taking things one year at a time."

But whatever the future holds for Gunn — from another Olympic quest to going back to school to get her master's degree to marriage and children — she says there's no question: She's not going to let epilepsy keep her from pursuing the life of her dreams.