Listen "Richard Thomas"
Episode Synopsis
Richard Thomas and his wife Susanna have led Hillside Church in Wimbledon for 27 years, where he is the pastor. Richard also serves as chaplain to The Priory Hospital, the Royal Marsden Hospital and Cancer Centre London. He is passionate about how we respond spiritually in our darkest hours.
"Historically, epilepsy was believed to be caused by demons. So that automatically put anybody who had a seizure, or a fit, as in the evil camp. Now we sort of know that it's caused by an electrical imbalance in the brain. But still, it's a disease that's stigmatised and looked down upon. I remember when I was diagnosed, the doctor could not have done a worse job of telling me. He almost couldn't look me in the eye. He avoided any deep conversation about it and I was in and out of the office in just a few minutes, and then saw him treating an old lady with so much tenderness and care. I wondered what was wrong with me and, of course, it was epilepsy."
"Historically, epilepsy was believed to be caused by demons. So that automatically put anybody who had a seizure, or a fit, as in the evil camp. Now we sort of know that it's caused by an electrical imbalance in the brain. But still, it's a disease that's stigmatised and looked down upon. I remember when I was diagnosed, the doctor could not have done a worse job of telling me. He almost couldn't look me in the eye. He avoided any deep conversation about it and I was in and out of the office in just a few minutes, and then saw him treating an old lady with so much tenderness and care. I wondered what was wrong with me and, of course, it was epilepsy."
More episodes of the podcast Stories Seldom Told
Marc Boaz
28/11/2025
Alan Green
13/11/2025
Carole Hopson
01/11/2025
Solange Ndip
16/10/2025
Lt. Col. (Dr) Dharamdatt Goel (Retd.)
03/10/2025
Megan Davis
15/09/2024
Dr Satyen Sharma
17/08/2024
Sindhu Wadhwa
14/07/2024
Robert Newcome
15/06/2024
Shubha Priya
08/04/2024
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.