Epilepsy affects about 2.2 million Americans, according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences report. Onset occurs at any age; how ever is most common in children, the elderly and those with traumatic head injuries such as athletes and veterans.

Sofie was just 5 when her parents noticed the brief blank staring spells. “She would just check-­‐‑out for a second or two, cognitively she was gone,” Brad says. “We couldn’t get a handle on it. We couldn’t tell if she was playing with us. Then she lost speech and we knew something was wrong.” Three years and many treatments later, the seizures only intensified.

“Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder in the U.S. after migraine, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, yet it receives less than a tenth of the research funding of any one of them.” Fortunately, the Levys found that brain surgery was Sofie’s best option, not last option. They headed to UCLA for testing and surgery, and the rest is now history.

With no big name celebrity spokesperson and with centuries of stigma, epilepsy is in the shadows. Too few talk about it, often doctors miss epilepsy until a convulsion occurs. Epilepsy is not well understood, is under diagnosed, and new treatments are slow to come to market, leaving over 30% of the children with uncontrolled epilepsy.

“Sofie was lucky, we could get to the source of the seizures. Stopping the seizures allowed the other parts of her brain to function well so she could live well. Since surgery she has been seizure free, doing great in school, learned Hebrew and sign language, and has started studying Neurodiagnostics, so that she can soon be a working EEG Tech. Sofie’s father, Brad, now runs a private, in-­‐‑home EEG monitoring service, EEG TO GO catering to kids with Autism and Epilepsy. Sofie plans to follow that same road.

In addition to gathering folks this November, a new found focus for this event will be to spread awareness for the new International Epilepsy Day. “We’re hoping that all of our guests will go back to their home towns and spread the word that there is now an international day for hope. We’re just super excited.” said Brad Levy, event director.

Join over 2,500 anticipated ticketed participants us as we flood the Disneyland Park in our EADDL puprle event T-­Shirts on what would ordinarily be a slow day! Also check the website for more information and for links for ticket purchases and discounted hotel rates.

www.epilepsyawarenessday.org



