Category: Thriving with Epilepsy

“I was so excited to be at Camp Oz because it was the first time I had ever stayed away from my parents. I wanted to go to Camp Oz because I wanted to make new friends and I love to be independent,” says Shreya.

The Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota’s (EFMN) promise is that nobody journeys through epilepsy alone. Marcia Kautz’s journey shows just how important this statement is. Marcia and her husband Dean have been journeying together since her first seizure in 1988, and the partnerships they’ve built along the way have been life-changing.

The Necastro family’s epilepsy journey began in 2019 when Noah was eight years old. They immediately learned of our programs and events from their neurologist, and it quickly became a journey filled with support and education. The support came from joining family programs like the annual Walk, Parent Connect Groups,

Seina Showen, a school nurse in Hermantown, uses advocacy to promote classroom trainings and increase epilepsy awareness and education.

The Atwell’s lost their daughter Stephanie to Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), but are now helping others live a full life with epilepsy.

No two epilepsy journeys are the same. Especially when it occurs with another medical condition, like it does for Austin Thomas. Austin has lived most of his 22 years with autism, but seizures became part of his life at 17 years old when he was diagnosed with epilepsy. “Austin faces

Beginning on September 1 in Fargo/Moorhead, and finishing on October 2 in the Twin Cities, the epilepsy community unites to walk in solidarity with one another. After years of coming together to Rise Above Seizures, the Walk name changed in 2021 to the United In Epilepsy Regional Walks. With a

The Edelbrock’s became part of the epilepsy community in 2015 when at 18 months old, Marcaylin started having focal seizures. Unable to get her seizures under control, often causing Marcaylin to stop breathing, she passed away from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) in 2018. “We want people to know

Caregivers play many roles in the lives of loved ones. For parents who have a child with epilepsy, it ranges from giving medication to working with their school, and yes, taking rides down the “black hole” slide at Family Camp each summer. Meela Keobounpheng, along with her parents Talia and

Brette Garnatz wants to talk about the things we’re too often quiet about. Her message to others with epilepsy is think about and be active in managing your mental health. To women with epilepsy, she shares her difficulties around having a child while managing seizures. Brette’s journey began when she