Lauren (Kelsey’s Mum) & Epilepsy

About Lauren: 

Hi, I’m Lauren! I live in Altamonte Springs, Florida. I am a proud Mum of 4 children, including Kelsey, who lives with refractory epilepsy, or drug resistant epilepsy (DRE). It’s a busy house! There are plenty of crazy days and big family parties. 

During the week, I work as an Office Manager, and like many others at the moment I’m working from home - it can be a little difficult at times with the buzz of our household. In our family, we love sports - baseball and softball mainly - I play too. In the quieter moments, you will catch me reading a book, or studying for my Bachelors in Healthcare Admin. 

When we get some mother and daughter time, we love listening to music and watching movies together. She has me hooked on teen shows, we are watching The Originals at the moment. We often go on long car drives, whether it’s to Kelsey's appointments or to sports competitions. In the past, there was one particular 12 hour car drive where the kids wanted to play Dora the Explorer on repeat - that DVD somehow went ‘missing’ but now our car playlist is awesome! 

Kelsey’s Diagnosis: 

It was 2016. I had dropped her at school early and when I was on the highway going to work I had a call from the school. They told me Kelsey’s life was in danger, and I needed to get there straight away, it was terrifying. When I arrived, I was informed Kelsey had experienced a grand-mal seizure. We spent hours in the ER and Kelsey was diagnosed with epilepsy and started on medication. 

Following her diagnosis, it took a while for us to realize the severity of Kelsey’s condition. She had a bad fall whilst at home during a seizure, and that’s when we realized. It’s been a long process - her health has never been simple. The other children know what to do when Kelsey feels unwell, they still worry about her but this means they know to react, and react quickly! The school that Kelsey attended had a fabulous school nurse, she really helped us at that time with loads of useful advice which was great.

Lauren, Kelsey & Epsy: 

Previously, we have logged her condition in-depth; my job in a nursing home means I had experience writing nursing notes! I’d use the notes to explain events that were occurring, medication, things the Doctor told us and so on.

I found Epsy on Facebook and I told Kelsey to try the App as I was losing notes and it’s a cleaner way to keep track of everything. She’s getting to the age where I want her to have more independence with her epilepsy as she looks to move away for college. Kelsey having the Epsy App is a great start for this - it’s all the information in one place!

Lauren’s message to those Parents who have a child diagnosed with epilepsy: 

An epilepsy diagnosis is life-changing, but you need to keep going. Keep living. We’ve had lots of challenges but you persist, you have to keep fighting until you find something that works for you, or even better, a cure. 

Lauren’s message to Kelsey:

Don’t let epilepsy rule your life. You’ll graduate high school and go to college. It terrifies me but you have to keep living your life. Continue with your dreams, no matter what. Even at your worst, you have to get-up and push on as tomorrow may be better. You’re strong and you persist!