I was allowed to do everything and often paid dearly

40 years of epilepsy. My name is Susanne Albers. I was born on February 13, 1965, in an ambulance between Adendorf and Lüneburg. My biological mother did not want me, so I spent the first 10 months of my life in a children's home. At Christmas 1965, Klaus and Ursela Knoop from Bardowick adopted me. They gave me so much love as if I were their own child. Until I turned 12, my childhood was completely trouble-free. But then I was diagnosed with epilepsy. From that day on, many things were no longer carefree. I managed to get through to my Abitur (high school diploma). After that, I trained as a technical draftsman in steel construction and moved to Berlin with my then-boyfriend to study. I was very captivated by architecture, but during my studies, I also faced many challenges.