Raped as I Had a Seizure

- Cher Heasmer/Lucy Needham

Georgina Adams, 24,

Stoke-on-Trent

My knight in shining armour… That was my boyfriend Peter Cotterill down to a T.

We’d started dating in 2012, when I was 19.

I’d known him for years through friends, but we’d lost touch.

Then I’d bumped into him on a night out and he’d proved what a gent he was…

I suffer from asthma and started having an attack outside a bar.

When I spotted Peter near the door, I grabbed his arm.

He held me and kept me calm until an ambulance arrived.

It was an unexpected reunion, but it set off a spark between us.

Peter was such a kind, caring boyfriend – I was smitten.

When I was 20, I was diagnosed with a heart condition and Peter stuck by me through three heart operations.

Then, in early 2014, I was at home with Peter when everything went fuzzy. When I came to, he was hovering over me, looking panicked.

‘You passed out and kept twitching,’ he said, terrified. ‘I’ve called an ambulance.’

At Royal Stoke University Hospital, I was told I’d had a seizure.

Following tests, I was diagnosed with epilepsy.

For the first few months, I had at least one seizure every day.

Peter was a pillar of strength. When I had an attack, he knew exactly what to do.

I was always tired after, and needed to sleep. So he’d help me to bed then lie with me, in case I had another one. My hero.

Soon after, Peter gave up his job to be my full-time carer.