To spotlight the people the Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas helps, check out our weekly blog called, “An Inside Look.” This week, read about how our Austin staff went above and beyond to help Jerry.

The Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas has its main office in San Antonio. You may not realize we also have a wonderful two-person team in Austin, Texas. While they are a small team, our Austin staff is mighty in the impact they make in the lives of the people with epilepsy. Last week, our Austin team went out of their way to assist a person who needed a helping hand.

An Immediate Response

Jerry* called our Austin office in a panic. Due to complicated circumstances, Jerry is currently staying at a homeless shelter. When Mary, our development manager, picked up the phone, she listened to him carefully and assured him that they would help in any way they could. From there, she contacted our Social Services Coordinator Kathy, emailing and calling her to relay the details.

Jerry had no money and his backpack, which contained his epilepsy medications, had been stolen. As you may know, missing even one dose of epilepsy medication can trigger a seizure. EFCST’s management and staff didn’t want that to happen to Jerry.

Even more discouraging, Jerry had no cell phone, so communication with him was difficult. “We played phone tag all day until we were able to get Jerry to talk to Kathy, and work out the details, to get him some emergency medication,” Mary said.

Emergency Medication

To get Jerry his medication, Kathy coordinated with our Marketing & Outreach Associate, Natalie, who needed to be at the pharmacy to pay for the medication. Jerry had to travel from downtown Austin to north of Austin to reach Natalie.

However, when Natalie arrived, the pharmacist explained that the prescription hadn’t been filled. Jerry had the prescription in his possession and it couldn’t be processed until he arrived. At that point, Jerry was still about an hour and a half away.

Between the number of calls back and forth between the offices and the lack of communication with Jerry, Kathy worried that he might not get his medication at all.

“Once I arrived at the CVS and talked to the Pharmacy Tech, I realized there was tons and miscommunication,” Natalie explained. “I was content to stay and wait when I realized I could put the payment for Jerry’s prescription on a gift card. I left the gift card with the Pharmacy Tech who promised me to get it to Jerry.” About half an hour later, Natalie received a phone call that Jerry successfully received his medication.

Just In Time

Thanks to the efforts of our Austin EFCST team, Kathy, Jerry, and the pharmacist, not only did Jerry get his prescription filled, but he was able to take his evening dose on time AND return to the shelter.

“Natalie did a phenomenal job of advocating [for Jerry],” Kathy said, in an excited email to the EFCST staff the next morning. “I received an email from Jerry thanking us for the help and even offering to help in the future to pay the kindness forward.”

Our Two-Person Team

It’s stories like this that remind us how a few dedicated people can make such an incredible difference in our community. Though Mary and Natalie are in Austin, they are still very much a part of our EFCST family and we’re thankful for their efforts to help Jerry and people with epilepsy in similar circumstances who have hit a rough patch!

Thank you to EFCST’s donors who help make important services like emergency medication possible so people with epilepsy can control their seizures.

For more information about programs and services offered through our Central Texas Office, call (512) 876-8471 or email Staff@EFCST.org.

*Some names have been changed for privacy.

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