Kaya was diagnosed with Epilepsy when she was 9 years old at the end of 3rd grade.  She began having what we would call "staring spells" which began to affect her ability to focus properly in school and in everyday life.   We learned from her Dr. that her "staring spells" were actually absence seizures and so we began the process of trying to treat them.  Over the past five years we have struggled with finding the right combination of medications tand diet to treat Kaya's seizures while at the same time trying to minimize the amount of side effects that Kaya would experience from the changes.  The outlook was good for Kaya, and in many cases children outgrow the absence seizures in early adolescence.  In 2017, over spring break, Kaya experienced her first Grand-Mal seizure while at home with her family.  This was devastating as it meant the possibility of her outgrowing the condition was drastically lowered.  A second Grand-Mal seizure occurred while Kaya was at school about a month later.  This was very scary for her friends as well as the staff and students around her.  Because of this, however, Kaya was able to more openly discuss her condition with the people around her and who care about her.  Kaya continued to have the grand-mal seizures approximatly once a month for the next year.  Currently, we are in the process of looking into different treatment options to help Kaya become seizure free and to prevent the seizures from occurring.  This will be an ongoing battle that we have every intention of fighting, and the support from family and friends is what helps us get through each and every day.  EXCITING UPDATE:  As of March 31st, 2019 Kaya has been grand-mal free for 365 days!  That's one full year with no big seizures!!  Way to go Kaya!!