Seizing Life

This week on Seizing Life® we take a look at diagnostic and surgical tools that assist physicians in localizing and removing areas of the brain that produce seizures. In an episode recorded this past November at Epilepsy Awareness Day at Disneyland, Kelly speaks with several exhibitors to learn more about current and emerging technology that is helping to improve the lives of those with epilepsy.

This week on Seizing Life® epilepsy advocate and mother Kate Neale Cooper and podcast host and mother Kelly Cervantes share their experiences parenting children with epilepsy and offer advice on advocating for your child’s epilepsy care.

This week on Seizing Life® kids who either have epilepsy or who have family members with epilepsy ask pediatric neurologists about epilepsy. Dr. Kristen Park of Children’s Hospital of Colorado and Dr. Adam Numis of the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital answer questions on a wide variety of topics related to epilepsy in an episode recorded live at Epilepsy Awareness Day at Disneyland this past Novem...

This week on Seizing Life® we discuss managing epilepsy with the added stress of the holiday season. As the holidays roll around, family and personal commitments can feel like obligations, and can bring with them additional stress. Dr. Eva Alden, a Neuropsychologist at the Mayo Clinic joins us to explain the connection between stress and seizures, and offers advice, insights, and recommendations f...

In honor of Infantile Spasms Awareness week (Dec. 1 – 7, 2022), this week on Seizing Life Monica Diaz-Greco shares her daughter Emma’s epilepsy journey from initial onset and diagnosis of infantile spasms through a VNS implant and brain surgery.

This week on Seizing Life® we welcome Hannah Whitten to the podcast. Hannah’s older brother Dylan lived with epilepsy nearly his entire life, until he passed away from SUDEP at the age of 25. Though she was 5 years younger, Hannah was a constant companion to Dylan as they grew up and was often his main caregiver. She tells us about her brother’s attitude and determination not to let epilepsy defin...

This week on Seizing Life® we speak with Dr. Alice Lam about the potential impacts of seizures on cognition and memory. We discuss the possible short-term and long-term effects of epilepsy on cognition and memory, and the differing ways that seizures may impact children, adults, and aging adults. Dr. Lam also highlights the complexities of the impacts created by medications, seizures, and the norm...

This week on Seizing Life® former Marine Captain Jack Somers shares his long journey to an accurate epilepsy diagnosis. After more than a decade of seizures and a diagnosis of “generalized seizure disorder” from both the Veterans Administration and numerous neurologists, Jack Somers was finally told that he has epilepsy. Jack shares his confusing and sometimes frustrating journey to diagnosis.

This week we celebrate our 100th episode of Seizing Life by having guest host David Axelrod interview Kelly Cervantes about her role as an advocate, podcast host, and leader in the epilepsy community as the Chair of the CURE Epilepsy Board of Directors. Kelly discusses the importance of community, the impact of CURE Epilepsy on epilepsy research, finding hope in the promise of research, and how he...

This week on Seizing Life ® we look at the challenges faced by minority groups in general and the Hispanic community in particular in accessing quality epilepsy care and learn about a program aimed at addressing these issues. Dr. Refugio Sepulveda, Assistant Professor of Research at the University of Arizona, discusses the known disparities in epilepsy care faced by the Hispanic community and outl...

This week on Seizing Life® we look at medical cannabis as a treatment option for epilepsy from the perspective of a mother, an advocate, and an educator with a master’s degree in medical cannabis and therapeutics – and in this case, they are all the same person. Sarah O’Hanlon’s journey to find relief for her son Owen’s daily seizures first led her to Colorado, then to advocacy in her home state o...

This week on Seizing Life® we talk seizure alert dogs with Jessa Kenworthy, Training Director at 4 Paws for Ability, a breeding, training, and placement organization for service dogs.

This week on Seizing Life® epilepsy advocate and mother Kate Neale Cooper shares her daughter Virginia’s 16-year epilepsy journey. She explains how a new diagnostic tool enabled doctors to localize Virginia’s seizures, and ultimately perform successful epilepsy surgery.

Filmmaker Miles Levin discusses growing-up with epilepsy and turning his experiences into the award-winning short film “Under the Lights”. Miles talks about his initial diagnosis at age 4 and details his long journey with epilepsy, focusing on the social impact that he experienced throughout childhood and adolescence.

This week on Seizing Life epilepsy researcher Dr. Nicholas Varvel discusses the connection between acquired epilepsy and inflammation in the brain. Dr. Varvel explains how and why some people may develop epilepsy following a brain injury, infection, or illness, and shares how discoveries made through his research could lead to new treatments for preventing the onset of seizures.

This week on Seizing Life ®, Dr. Doug Nordli, Chief of Pediatric Neurology at UChicago Medicine, provides a guide to help parents navigate diagnosing epilepsy in their children and understand the treatment journey.

This week on Seizing Life we present short videos about three key areas of epilepsy research on which we focus: Post-Traumatic Epilepsy (PTE), Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), and Refractory (or Drug-Resistant) epilepsy.

This week on Seizing Life ®, Yssa DeWoody of Ring14 USA and the Rare Epilepsy Network (REN) joins us to provide a primer on rare epilepsies. Yssa explains what rare epilepsies are and how they are diagnosed, potential treatments, and the particular challenges for those impacted.

This week on Seizing Life® we focus on mental health in children with epilepsy. Madison Berl, a pediatric neuropsychologist at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. joins us to provide an overview of comorbid mental health issues that may arise in children and teens with epilepsy.

This week on Seizing Life ® Jim Abrahams, creator of some of the biggest comedy films of all-time, shares his son’s troubling and remarkable epilepsy journey to seizure freedom through the ketogenic diet.

This week on Seizing Life ® Mark DeFee shares his 26-year journey with post-traumatic epilepsy. Mark tells his personal PTE story from his diagnosis as a high school Senior following multiple concussions sustained playing high school football, through his years of denial and living recklessly in college, to his acceptance and efforts to manage his seizures, ultimately leading to a successful caree...

This week on Seizing Life®, Channing Seideman shares her epilepsy story from her first seizure and initial diagnosis at nine years old through her long and varied treatment journey to a revised diagnosis of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.

This week on Seizing Life college student Kiara Mowat shares her epilepsy journey from her diagnosis in 2018 at age 14 to her first year in college at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Hear this personal epilepsy story from an amazing young woman who is determined not to let seizures overwhelm her goals and ambitions.

Today on Seizing Life we welcome Gardiner Lapham back to the podcast. Gardiner is one of the co-founders of PAME, a collaboration of health care providers, researchers, scientists, public health officials, patient advocates, caregivers, bereaved families, and people living with epilepsy with the goal of improving our understanding of and working to prevent epilepsy-related mortality.

Today on Seizing Life Dr. Elaine Kiriakopoulos, Assistant Professor of Neurology at Dartmouth College, provides a thorough overview of HOBSCOTCH, a personalized program that helps people with epilepsy find ways to manage and cope with memory and thinking challenges in order to lead happier, more productive lives.