We can make a difference in the lives of children living with epilepsy!

In 2019 I began my journey of running. To be honest, I never thought I would run more than a few miles. I blew out both of my knees in high school and had them both completely reconstructed as a result. When I started this journey, I didn’t enjoy running...at all, but I pushed on and as I continued to train, the amount of miles I could run at a time started to rise and I actually started to look forward to the days that I could go out and run. My mom encouraged me to sign up for a marathon and I chose the Chicago Marathon in 2020, as a charity runner, for team Danny Did! Unfortunately due to Covid, the marathon got canceled, I still ran the marathon virtually on October 10, 2020 and chose to defer my entry to this year, 2022! I am so excited to be able to run the Chicago Marathon, IN PERSON, this coming October as a member of team Danny Did.

Danny Did is a wonderful foundation that means a lot to me personally and here is why.

Danny Did Foundation Mission:

To advance public awareness of epilepsy and the risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), to protect people with epilepsy, and to prevent deaths caused by seizures

Danny Did Foundation Vision:

To create a reality in which healthcare providers proactively communicate with patients and caregivers about the risk of SUDEP and other forms of mortality associated with epilepsy. To elevate awareness of, and access to, technologies that enable early intervention and added safety when a seizure occurs.

My oldest child was born on June 20, 2012. A beautiful baby girl! She had a normal birth and we thought we had a healthy baby. When she was only a few hours old, a nurse came in the room to help me figure out how to nurse her. She took her out of her blanket, looked at her for a moment and then left the room with her. All without saying a word to us. A few minutes later we learned that she was having a seizure and she was going to have to stay in the NICU. We had no idea that she was having a seizure, we didn’t know that, in babies, seizures look so different. At 12 hours old, she seized again, but this time she stopped breathing. I will never forget seeing my baby turn blue and being forced to leave the room so that the doctors and nurses could work on her. Thankfully they got her stable and she was emergency transported to Riley Children’s Hospital NICU in Indianapolis. That is how our journey with seizures and epilepsy began. She never outgrew the seizures like we had hoped she would and we never got an answer as to why this happened. Today her seizures are controlled with medication, which we are so thankful for. But the thing about epilepsy is, most times, it strikes with no warning. We never know if or when she will have a seizure. We just do what we can to try and prevent her from having one. We give her the medicine, we make sure she gets plenty of sleep, avoid different lights, make sure she doesn’t get too hot, make sure we have her emergency medicine with us, and the list goes on. Epilepsy is unpredictable and terrifying.

Did you know that 1 in 26 American’s will develop epilepsy in their lifetime? A donation to the Danny Did Foundation will help to advance epilepsy and SUDEP awareness, educate about seizure safety, further public policies that positively impact people with epilepsy, and most of all, to support families with practical resources that help to protect those who face seizures. Your donation makes a direct impact on families who face epilepsy.

I am so excited to be teaming with Danny Did to run this marathon and because of my daughter, it is extra special to me. Please consider donating to help me reach my goal.