When my daughter Carolynn had her first grand mal seizure at just four years old, my world stopped. In that moment, it felt like I was watching my child slip away and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I knew what was happening medically — but emotionally, it felt like I was losing her.
What followed was a whirlwind of hospital visits, medications, sleepless nights, and fear of the unknown. But what no one prepares you for is the quiet aftermath — the emotional exhaustion, the financial strain, and the way it ripples through an entire family. Siblings often feel scared or forgotten, and parents carry a heavy load of guilt, worry, and burnout.
A few years later, my youngest son, Virgil, also began having seizures. Once again, life shifted overnight. Managing two children with health challenges while fighting my own battles — an autoimmune disease and later, thyroid cancer — tested me in every way possible. There were moments I felt like I couldn’t keep going, but I did, because my children needed me to…