CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — November is Epilepsy Awareness Month; epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological condition in the United States. One in 26 people will develop epilepsy in their life and one in 10 people will have a seizure in their life.
“It definitely changed my life. Still today I can’t believe that it’s been the four years,” said Nancy Garza.
Nancy Garza or who I know better as ‘mom’ was diagnosed with epilepsy four years ago. One morning everything for my family changed. So quickly, epilepsy became part of our lives.
“The sad part is when I wake up from the seizure of course I’m hurting everywhere, but the pain really comes from when I look up and see you guys,” said Garza. “When I see my family that has seen me go through it and that’s the hardest part of it. Not only is the person who has epilepsy and the seizures is going through it the family is going through it.”
There are other families just like mine with loved ones battling epilepsy, including CEO and Founder of the Epilepsy Foundation Central and South Texas Sindi Rosales. Rosales daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy at a young age. This inspired her to start the foundation that now offers support and resources.
“After we got through all of this, I realized that we needed to really have more services for families,” said Rosales. “There wasn’t anything to help us out we just didn’t know what to do so that’s when I started the epilepsy foundation.”
With family, organizations, and support groups, people like my mom are not alone in learning how to live with epilepsy. At first it was a struggle getting those typical everyday tasks you don’t really think too much about done. Now, my mom has come a long way and she’s still pushing forward.
“Being in the kitchen and me doing it, it’s empowering. It’s definitely empowering I feel so good,” said Garza. “I feel good on the days that my speech is not slurred, I can speak well, I can type, I can read.”
For a few years it felt like a part of my family was lost, but now the rock of my family is stronger than ever.
“Every day is a progress. Even if it’s one day of seizure free that’s progress. So, I say for everybody that’s going through what I’m going through we continue to fight because we’re warriors,” said Garza.
If you or someone you know has epilepsy the Epilepsy Foundation Central and South Texas has a clinic right here in Corpus Christi. The clinic serves the entire Coastal Bend and helps with medication, testing and more.
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