Mary Bernales

I’m taking part in Walk for Epilepsy around Australia because...

Stella Rae, at only 2years of age, you have already made a huge impact in our lives with your infectious smile and quirky noises - “Ooh!”

Recently I found out during one of Stella’s examinations it was discovered that even when she’s sleeping her brain is still having seizures. This is absolutely heart breaking to me, as a parent watching your child sleep and seeing them so at peace is warming, but knowing that Stella cannot even get this break tears me up.

“As many of you may be aware our girl Stella was diagnosed with NEXMIF Encephalopathy at 12 months of age. This involves a number of challenges for Stella and her family including low muscle tone, intellectual disability and most debilitating for Stella refractory, developmental Epilepsy. 
Despite Maddie & Mitchell's relentless efforts of advocacy for Stella, 6 antiepileptic medications, rescue meds, ketogenic diet and now a trial of CBD oil, we are yet to gain seizure control for Stella.  As you can imagine, having hundreds of seizures a day has significantly impacted her development requiring multiple therapy appointments a week.”

I want to raise money and make a difference for people living with epilepsy. Please help me by giving whatever you can using the 'Donate' button. The more people that know about the walk, the greater the impact, so please also spread the word by sharing our page with your friends and family. Thank you in advance for your generosity, it means a lot!