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.