By Lily Flowers

Hi, my name is Lily Flowers, and I am a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Homer J. Morris Middle School in McAllen, TX where I love social studies and theater class. I love legos, baseball, horseback riding, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. I take piano lessons, and I work hard at occupational therapy and physical therapy twice a week, every week, so that I can regain strength lost due to my surgeries. Every summer, I attend Camp Brainstorm, which I love. My favorite thing to do with my family is to travel and go camping.

I had my first seizure right after I turned six. At first, medicine worked to keep my seizures controlled, but it made me extremely sleepy all the time. After a year and a half, my seizures came back, and nothing could stop them. I’ve taken nine different medications in all kinds of combinations, but I was still having anywhere from seven to 40+ seizures a day. Over the years, I have had nine brain surgeries, with two resections, and I had a VNS implanted in 2016. I’ve spent more days in the hospital than I can count, and my mom and I travel over 300 miles to Houston almost every month (sometimes more) to see all of my specialists who help keep my seizures under control. I am finally down to only having about 30 seizures a month. 

I am the Speak Up Speak Out! representative for the Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas this year. I am honored to be a voice for people living with epilepsy in Texas. It is my hope that Congress will increase funding for new and innovative research that will provide better treatment as well as increase support to help build seizure-smart communities. It is my dream that one day there will be an end to epilepsy!

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