Texas Siblings Share Epilepsy Message on Ca...( ...),Health

Elizabeth Espinoza and Mark Williams Named National Epilepsy Spokespersons

WASHINGTON, March 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Elizabeth Espinoza and Mark Williams, siblings from Hutto, TX will travel to Washington, D.C., Sunday, March 29 through Tuesday, March 31, 2009 to meet with congressional leaders and gain their support for epilepsy public health programs and more research toward a cure for epilepsy as part of the seventh annual Kids Speak Up! event.

Espinoza, 15, and Williams, 7, are two of 44 young people with epilepsy participating in Kids Speak Up!, a national program coordinated by the Epilepsy Foundation with support from Abbott. The program rallies young ambassadors with epilepsy between the ages of 7 and 16 to advocate for the more than 3 million Americans living with the condition.

"Elizabeth and Mark were selected to participate in Kids Speak Up! to represent the approximately 350,000 children under the age of 15 who are affected by the condition. They are ideal candidates because each of them has overcome difficult challenges while living with epilepsy. Their courage is an inspiration to us all," said Eric R. Hargis, president and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation.

According to their mother Sarah Williams, the siblings inherited the condition from her side of the family. Epilepsy is the most common neurological condition in children and the third most common in adults after stroke and Alzheimer's disease. Despite modern therapy, about one million people in the U.S. continue to experience seizures or significant side effects from treatment for their epilepsy.

It is rare for siblings to have epilepsy, said Sindi Rosales, executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation Central & South Texas. That was one reason the national foundation chose the Williams family to represent the regional chapter's
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