Honoring the Life of Brendan
By Jennifer Sime
I am a mother of four children and a mother who has lost a child. On November 28, 2017, my 19-year-old son Brendan lost his life to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Like so many families who have lost loved ones to SUDEP, we knew nothing about it, and we did not know that Brendan was at risk.
We first found out that Brendan was experiencing seizures when his 4th grade teacher noticed he was having staring spells in class. She was familiar with seizures because her daughter had epilepsy. It was a time of uncertainty and fear because we did not know what to do, where to get the best treatment, or how to best protect our son. We didn’t know to seek out an epileptologist or ask questions about SUDEP.
The biggest challenge we have faced as a family is losing Brendan. We work to honor his life by helping others and continuing to share the love and light he brought to this world. I currently support the Epilepsy Foundation and Danny Did Foundation to raise awareness about SUDEP. As part of our efforts, we have had the opportunity to get involved with other families, legislators and researchers in the epilepsy community. Connecting and supporting others has helped our healing.
Reviewed By: Sara Wyen