As I reflect on my weekend this evening I have mixed emotions. I took my daughter, Hannah Kate, to a Vanderbilt basketball game with a friend on Saturday afternoon. We had so much fun watching the game and watching her soak up all the excitement! She yelled, cheered, ate popcorn, and then cheered again. When you get to experience life through her eyes it is just amazing. This little 5 year old girl is so full of life and dreams that my heart melts to be with her…..Her innocence is refreshing!
The night before the game, I read an article on a 13 year old girl that had epilepsy from South Africa. She was married off by her family in January of this year to pay for her “epilepsy treatment” and to “monitor” her. The man she was forced to marry was a witchdoctor that was 57 years old. As I read this article, my heart began to sink. “How can this be happening in this world?”, I asked myself. My soul began to scream about how we need to educate and advocate for people living with epilepsy! How many other women and children are being mistreated with epilepsy? The is a sad reality of this world!
As I watched my daughter smile and enjoy the basketball game, I couldn’t help but think of that young girl across the world. She had her innocence taken from her. She was forced to quit school and marry this horrible witchdoctor that is “treating” her epilepsy. Where is the help for this young girl living with epilepsy? Who will stand up for her?
As we were heading home from the basketball game, I decided to stop and check the mail for the organization. I am so exited to announce that we have received our paperwork from the state of Tennessee stating that we are officially registered here for the My Epilepsy Story organization. This was so exciting to see the words in black and white! Now we begin to move on with the IRS as we continue to move forward with our vision of educating, advocating, and funding research for women and children living with epilepsy. There was so much joy, happiness, and sadness this weekend. The future looks horrible to some, but bright to others. I hope that you can have a bright future ahead instead a future of despair. Even if times are tough, just remember to put things in perspective. I know that our family has faced hard times, but we are choosing to focus on the bright future that is ahead for us. I am also focusing on the bright future ahead for the My Epilepsy Story organization.
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