Wearside TikTok star wins national award after seizure scare

A TikTok star from Wearside has won a national title and said: "I feel very listened to."

Evie Field, 23, from Durham, was the winner of the Best TikTok Influencer category at the National Social Media Awards.

But she admitted that her night included a scare where she feared she was going to have a seizure.

16 million followers on TikTok

Evie lives with conditions including Tourette's, seizures, and PANDAS - Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder. She has more than 16 million followers on TikTok and her posts, which have had 599 million likes, raise awareness of the health conditions that she has.

'I got the feeling I was going to have a seizure'

Her TikTok page describe her as an 'encephalitis warrior'.

Speaking about the awards night, she said: "My Tourette's was not too bad but out of nowhere, I got the feeling I was going to have a seizure, but it passed."

There were 6 finalists in her category and she lifted the trophy at the event at Porchester Hall in London.

'I felt appreciated'

She described the awards night as a 'really good event' and added: "There were lots of people clapping and smiling when I was going on to the stage.

"What I do on social media is try to get this condition seen and heard.

"I did feel very seen and very listened to. I felt appreciated."

Evie shares her experiences of a daily struggle with tics and seizures under the names of This Trippy Hippie and Evie Meg.

Struggling for breath after an attack

Her social media posts include one where an attack felt as if lightning was coursing through her body, she said. Another severe tic episode left her struggling for breath.

She admitted she was 'really nervous' on the awards night but she got 'a huge reaction' from the audience which was 'really cool'.

Evie's life has completely changed in the last decade.

She was a top gymnast in 2011 and 2012 when she became a British champion but injury ended her hopes of going further.

Paralysed for weeks

Worse was to follow and by the time Evie was 15, she began to suffer mental health issues while she was still at secondary school.

Her tics also started and in 2016, she had her first seizure. Within two years, they were so bad Evie became wheelchair bound.

She was paralysed for six weeks but fought back and used social media to tell her story.

She has also published a book called My Nonidentical Twin which also helps to raise awareness of her conditions.