SAN ANTONIO After four life-risking surgeries as a child to treat her epilepsy, Morgan Carey decided to lobby lawmakers to raise awareness about her disorder, teach students what to do if someone around them has a seizure, and adopt a diet and exercise routine to stay healthy.
Shes 14.
Morgan was diagnosed with epilepsy a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures over time at the age of 8. She suffers from one of its rarest forms. Her seizures are not violent and she doesnt convulse, but they are constant day and night- and dont respond to medication. Only about 100 such cases have been documented in the world.
But thats not the only rare thing about the auburn-haired teenager: She is one of 44 students in the country selected by the Epilepsy Foundation to be ambassadors on the topic and attended a workshop in Washington D.C. last month to learn advocacy outreach.
If you have a pulse, you have a purpose, Morgan said in a recent interview. Before my surgery, (at age 12), I dont think I was a very good person. I thought everything was about me. It really opened my eyes to do something bigger than myself.
She underwent a fifth surgery a few months ago, to install a device in her chest that controls the seizures, because the previous operations failed to stop them. It can be reset by swiping a magnet on her upper torso.
Its never going to go away, but the worst thing about it is my limitations, Morgan said she can no longer play volleyball or the French horn in the marching band at Reagan High School. But otherwise, I have a very normal life.
And thats the point Morgan hopes to get across in her advocacy for people with epilepsy, using humor to express herself with the personality of a bubbly comedienne.
During a 30-minute meeting with U.S. Rep. Francisco Quico Canseco, R-San Antonio, in his office last month to urge him to support a resolution to raise awareness on epilepsy, Morgan stuck to her message but charmed her listeners describing her recent appearance in a river parade.
I enjoyed that way too much, Morgan said. Just being on a float on the river waving to people. If I could do that every day ... Id travel on a float telling everyone about epilepsy.
See the rest here:
Teen with rare form of epilepsy becomes advocate