Michaela: The people in my family are my sister Gianna, and my mom and dad.

Michaela: Whenever I have a seizure I can’t feel it and then I just wake up and sometimes my head hurts and I get…and I have to miss fun things.

Michaela’s Mother: We first discovered Michaela had epilepsy around 8 months old. It was terrifying, we really didn’t know what was going on, and that began our epilepsy journey.

Michaela’s Father: As Michaela’s epilepsy has become less controlled and the seizures more frequent, it has affected the entire family including Gianna. Having a child with epilepsy and uncontrolled seizures does have some positive aspects on your family, and I would say one of the biggest ones is giving you perspective. Prior to me having children, you can get really caught up in your own world, but when you have something that’s a little bit bigger than your normal day-to-day, your hobbies, the things that you’re interested in, it gives you perspective.

Gianna: It’s been really hard for me to experience Michaela having seizures because there’s nothing that I can do to control it. I’ve always loved baking, and when I got the recipe of how to make bread, I was really intrigued by it, and I gave it away to a few neighbors, and they said that I should start selling it. So I decided that I was gonna make a bread company, and that I wanted to donate a portion of my money to the Epilepsy Foundation.

Michaela’s Father: I appreciate the Epilepsy Foundation because they’re working hard for my daughter. The programs they put together and the people in place build a community beyond what I can do as a parent.

Michaela: My name’s Michaela and I have epilepsy.