Shay’s Story

A Journey with Epilepsy and the Comfort of a Blanket

Shay’s story with epilepsy began when she was just 14 months old. We were at home, both of us sick from daycare, lying on the couch when she started seizing on me. I panicked, I had never seen a seizure before and immediately called 9-1-1. At the hospital, the doctors assured us that her seizure was caused by a fever and that it was nothing to worry about. They told us not to bring her back unless her seizures lasted longer than five minutes or happened more than once in 24 hours.

As parents, this didn’t feel right, but we trusted them. Over time, she had a couple more seizures, but we followed their advice and didn’t take her back in. Then, when Shay was 25 months old, things took a turn. She was sick and had two seizures within a couple of hours. Remembering what the doctors said, we brought her in, but they reassured us again that this was normal.

The next day, she had multiple seizures, so we returned to the ER. While we were there, she had another seizure, which finally led them to send us to Rochester for further testing. Shay stayed overnight, but no seizure activity occurred, so they sent us home again, saying it was normal since she’d had a fever earlier that week.

Two days later, Shay’s seizures became more frequent. They were happening almost every hour. We went back to the ER, where they gave her Keppra, monitored her for a couple of hours, and sent us home with the medication. But by the next morning, she was still seizing, and her condition had worsened to the point where she could barely stand. This time, they sent us back to Rochester, where she was finally diagnosed with epilepsy after an EEG.

The journey that followed wasn’t easy. Finding the right medications and adjusting to this new reality was a long, emotional process. But through it all, Shay was a trooper. She handled everything so well. Her one comfort through all of this was her Dolly Parton blanket, which never left her side. After her MRI, it was the first thing she asked for when she woke up.

As parents, we saw how something as simple as a blanket can provide such comfort during a difficult time. That’s why, when Strong Brave Hopeful reached out to let us know that someone had sponsored a blanket for Shay, we immediately said yes. It brought tears to our eyes to know someone wanted to do this for her.

For Shay, the excitement of picking out a new blanket was everything. Now, she loves snuggling under it with her new puppy. That small act of kindness brought so much joy and comfort to her during such a hard time, and for that, we are forever grateful.