When  someone  hears  about  epilepsy, their  first  thought  may  be  seizures or  cautions  around  flashing  lights. But  for  over  65  million  people  worldwide, epilepsy  can  manifest  in many  shapes  and  forms  and become  a  part  of  their  everyday  life. For  some,  they  refused  to  be  limited  by  epilepsy and  have  embraced  the  challenges and  perspectives  it  provides. Meet  Lexi,  a  vibrant  15-year-old  freshman  in high  school  whose  passion  for physical  activity  keeps  her  energized. Diagnosed  with  focal  impaired  awareness  seizures, Lexi  faces  each  day  with  courage  and  resilience. By  her  side  is  her  mom,  Kelly, a  dedicated  engineer  at  Georgia  Power, mother  of  six  and  a  fierce  advocate for  epilepsy  awareness. Kelly  not  only  manages Lexi's  doctor's  appointments  and  medications, but  also  champions  her  daughter's  dreams, including  Lexi's  aspiration  to  one  day  become  a  teacher. Together,  they  navigate  the  challenges  of epilepsy  with  strength  and  unwavering  determination. How  I  like  to  show  the  best  for  anyone  who  doesn't  know, I  can't  see  or  hear  when  I  have  a  seizure. Sometimes  I  talk. It  just  depends. So  how  I  describe  it  is  if  you  know  when  you're like  super  super  tired  and  you  just blank  out  because  you're  so  tired, that's  how  I  describe  it, but  I  can't  see  her  here. My  causes  is  lack  of  sleep  and  anxiety, which  doesn't  really  help  with the  anxiety  seven  anxiety  disorder. It  triggers.  Yeah,  so  it  triggers  that. Those  are  the  triggers, so  I  definitely  affects  me  a  lot. And  we  don't  know  what  caused  it. So  absolence  seizures  are  what used  to  be  referred  to  as  Petit  mal. I  don't  know  why.  That's  the  imagine, but  that's  what  they  call  it,  I  guess. And  we  did  genetic  testing. There  was  no  genetic  cause  for  hers. She's  had  no  birth  injury, no  head  injuries,  no  nothing. So  she's  part  of  the  population  that  have no  identifiable  cause  of  her  epilepsy.  Yes.  Yeah. Yeah.  Yeah.  I  mean, it's  one  of  those  things  where  it falls  in  that  category  of  things that  happen  to  other  people,  right? And  I  didn't  know  anybody  who  had  epilepsy. So  like  I  said, you  always  think  about  that  being  as the  big  convulsive  shaking  seizures. But  it  I  mean,  it  was  scary. It's  still  scary.  It  was  kind  of  shocking. Because  of  her  condition,  Lexi  has  had  to  make changes  to  her  daily  activities and  take  added  precautions. But  just  like  many  of  us, she  has  found  a  way  to  pursue her  passions  despite  this  biological  disruption. To  adapt  to  this  abrupt  change, Lexi  credits  her  optimistic  attitude  and her  determination  to  achieve the  same  milestones  as  her  peers. I  played  softball  for  a  really  long  time, and  in  eighth  grade, I  had  to  quit  because  my  seizures  got  really  bad, and  I've  always  loved softball  stop  really,  really  sucked. So  I  just  go  to  the  gym  so I  can  do  something  that's  what's  the  word? Active,  active. Yeah.  My  friends, I  don't  go  to  sleepovers because  I'm  15  and  I  want to  get  my  permit  and  I  have to  be  six  months  seizure  free. If  I  don't  get  enough  sleep, then  which  you  typically don't  get  when  you're  at  a  sleepover, then  I'm  going  to  have  a  seizure.  Yeah. While  the  medicalization  of  epilepsy has  helped  Lexi  receive  the  support  she  needs, her  journey  has  still  been  rocky. After  trying  multiple  doctors, she  was  finally  able  to  find  someone  that understood  and  treated  her  as  a  human,  not  a  statistic. And  with  the  support  of  her  community, she  has  built  the  courage  to understand  her  condition  and  help  others  do. You  know,  we  went  through  three  doctors. The  first  one  crash  and  Burn. Mainly  because  he  threw  medicine  literally  what  he  said. He  gave  us  some  pills  that were  he  should  have  titrated  her  medicine  and  didn't. She  had  some  bad  side  effects, but  he  literally  said,  Here's  this. Yep,  she  has  epilepsy. Here's  the  medicine.  Come  see  me  in  six  months. And  her  dad  and  I  were  just  like, Wait,  something's  wrong  with  her  brain. You  feel  like,  you  can't  just  cast  us  out  yet. And  then  we  went  to  another  place  that  was  okay. Then  we  ended  up  at  CoA. And  my  point  in  saying  that  is,  I  love  her. Is  that  piece  of  advice,  neurologists, you  know,  We  were  seeing  neurologists, and  this  last  doctor  we  found  was  an  epileptologist. Nothing  against  a  neurologist, but  we  finally  realized  that  there  were  people who  actually  specialized  in  epilepsy, like,  Okay,  that's  where  we're  going. And  to  answer  your  question, she  treats  Lexi  as  a  whole  being. You  know,  medicine  is  obviously  part  of  it, but  there  is  so  much  more  to  epilepsy  than  the  seizures. Like  she  genuinely  cares. Yeah.  Lexi's  experience  with the  biographical  disruption  of  epilepsy  opened doors  and  conversations  that  allowed  her  to  redefine and  rethink  who  she  is  and  where  she  fits  in  the  world. This  kind  of  disruption  can  be  deeply unsettling  and  for  some  it  can  lead  to  other  diagnoses. It's  a  powerful  reminder  that  when our  stories  change,  our  health  can  too. My  case  manager,  she  is always  there  for  me  and  I  love  her  so  much. She's  Amazing. We're  really  blessed  with  that's  amazing. So  one  thing  we  found  out  when  she had  a  few  probably  about  a  year  or  two into  the  epilepsy  diagnosis  that people  kids  diagnosed  with  epilepsy  have, I  think  it's  a  35%  higher  chance  of  being diagnosed  with  an  anxiety  disorder  and  or  ADHD. She  did  not  have  these  things  before she  was  diagnosed  with  epilepsy. So  it's  not  just  the  seizures. The  seizures  are  bad  enough, but  it  comes  with  some  other  stuff,  too. Kelly  has  fought  to  ensure  that  Lexi isn't  defined  by  the  stigma  of  epilepsy, drawing  from  personal  experience with  one  affected  by  the  condition. Together,  their  openness  about  Lexi's  seizures helps  bring  epilepsy  out of  the  shadows  and  into  conversation, especially  within  Lexi's  school  setting. Kelly  also  supports  the  increasing  support and  acknowledgment  of  legislation, recognizing  National  Epilepsy  Awareness  Month, advocating  for  greater  awareness  and  change. Remember  growing  up,  there's definitely  a  stigma  around  epilepsy. You  know,  I  did  know  someone  way  back  when  with  it, and  people  were  it's  like  they're  scared  of  you. And  we  were  not  going  to  do  that. We  were  not  gonna  keep  it  in  the  darkness, and  I  was  not  going  to  allow  her  life  to be  defined  by  seizures,  either. And  for  that  to  make  her  think that  she  couldn't  do  something  that  she  wanted. You  know,  I  mean,  you  got  to  laugh  at  stuff  that  happens or  else  she'll  just  get  caught up  in  the  negative  part  of  it. Alexia's  diagnosis  in  2021, she  has  continued  to  grow  and  cherish the  challenges  and  opportunities  epilepsy  has  given  her. As  she  looks  forward  to  the  next  parts  of  her  life, she's  excited  to  continue  being  an  advocate  for epilepsy  and  embracing  her  true  self. I  think  I  let  it  define  me  for  a  long  time, and  I  let  it  control  my  life, and  I  can't  I  remember  or, like,  thinking  about  it  all  the  time. You  can't  let  that  or  don't  let  that  happen because  I  think  you're  so much  more  than  your  seizures  in  your  epesy. You're  so  much  more  than  that.  Will  said