Join MaKenna In The Fight For Epilepsy Awareness!
MaKenna Homayoon is making her mark on her community and on epilepsy awareness. She has had many seizures that she does not remember, but she also has seizures that she is able to keep track of. Describing her seizures, MaKenna says, “it feels like bugs crawling on my arms, kind of like when your hand or foot falls asleep and when I say out loud that I feel bugs, my friends use to ask if they were real or fake bugs”, but her friends quickly got used to what it all actually meant! MaKenna had a seizure in school, during her kindergarten school year. Since then her seizures have changed many times in how they present themselves. MaKenna keeps a tally of how many seizures she has, keeps her doctor appointments, takes her medicine, and is not afraid at all to talk about it. The medicines have helped her seizures, but they are still not under control. Mom talks about epilepsy and seizures to everyone. Her mission is to keep her daughter safe, make sure that she doesn’t become isolated because of her seizures, and educates everyone she meets about what epilepsy and seizures are and what they are not. “At the beginning of each school year, I send to school seizure first aid charts and a laminated sheet that contains all our contact information, and the names and doses of all her medications. All of her teachers are aware of seizure first aid and the students are aware that MaKenna is epileptic. I want everyone to know the word ‘epilepsy’ and what that word truly means.” When Makenna began having seizures at school she brought in the book, “Mommy, I Feel Funny,’ to her class. “It’s about a girl sitting on a swing and her first seizure and how she has to go to the doctor and get different tests done. The kids got to ask me questions after my teacher finished reading.” MaKenna has since donated this book each year to her classroom to help spread awareness. MaKenna enjoys being a cheerleader and enlisted her friends to help raise awareness and even to raise funds to support AKF programs. “We sold purple nail polish, purple cupcakes, did purple hair extensions, awareness bracelets and pens and gave out first aid bookmarks to everyone. We raised over $500 every year! We even got the whole school to wear purple on Purple Day!” MaKenna tells us that, “When my body shakes on the inside, I’m a little slow, but I’m perfect just the way I am.” Yes, perfect! And perfectly brave… And this year, MaKenna is cheering at her middle school, but in years past has been an all-star cheerleader at Gravity Cheer in NY. MaKenna and mom gave out purple ribbon stickers and AKF bookmarks to all of the girls in the gym. The entire gym has been such a great support to our family over the years! MaKenna has done all-star cheer for years and this year she is doing school cheer but is raising awareness still with everyone! This young Purple Day Ambassador…and her entire family…are making sure that epilepsy awareness is a part of their entire community. We all thank you!
PURPLE DAY 2017 MAKENNA STYLE!
