A Special Thank You from Kristie Ann Griess Dear Epilepsy Warriors, Healthcare Heroes and Miracle Makers, I write this letter with a humble heart of gratitude. The magnitude of appreciation I have for you and your contributions to Mickie’s Miracle’s mission have been tremendous and awe-inspiring.  I will never forget the day the vision for this organization was given to me. My sweet baby girl, Mickie, still had stitches in her head from life-saving epilepsy brain surgery. I was experiencing the height of my trauma – a constant fear and worry my daughter was going to die. I got on my ..read more

Walking for Warriors November is Epilepsy Awareness Month and our CEO and Visionary Founder Kristie Griess is #WalkingforWarriors  “Today I walk for Jane, the first warrior I supported getting to level 4 epilepsy center for proper diagnosis and treatment.” This will be the first of the #WalkingforWarriors series for Epilepsy Awareness Month.  The post Walking for Warriors appeared first on Mickie's Miracles ..read more

The Pediatric Epilepsy Podcast provides a space for conversations that are both heart wrenching, hopeful and inspiring. We’ll be talking with parents doing their best to manage their child’s epilepsy, taking on issues like mental health and the need for urgency when dealing with a diagnosis or treatment, and talking with the world’s most respected pediatric epileptologists and caregivers at all levels — all within a comfortable, caring and creative setting. The post The Pediatric Epilepsy Podcast appeared first on Mickie's Miracles ..read more

https://mickiesmiracles.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/BTCLOD.COM-About-Mickies-Miracles-720p.mp4   Mikayla ‘Mickie’ was born on October 26, 2011. She was three months old when she had her first seizure. By nine months old, she had failed over eight anti-seizure medications and was diagnosed with Intractable Epilepsy and Infantile Spasms. Each month that passed, she fell further and further behind her peers in development. I knew deep down in my soul something was gravely wrong. In the war that we were waging, I wondered if we would ever get answers. When we met Dr. Mary Zupanc, a Pediatr ..read more

We are absolutely heartbroken by the loss of Warrior Landon. Our prayers go out for his sweet soul and his beautiful family — Warrior Mama Julie, Warrior Dad Mark, and his Warrior Sis Callie. We know loss of life is part of our earthly experience and yet Landon’s unexpected and tragic loss has hit us all very hard. We love you Landon and find some respite from grief knowing that heaven has gained an angel. Please pray and join with us in sending love to Warrior Landon and his extraordinary family. The post We Will Miss You Warrior Landon! appeared first on Mickie's Miracles ..read more

A Seizure Action Plan (SAP) is of utmost importance if you are parenting an epileptic child. The Dravet Syndrome Foundation is hosting an SAP educational this upcoming Wednesday to help parents be prepared. After the presentation the doctors and experts will open up the panel for questions. The experts include the following people: Elaine Wirrell, MD Director of Pediatric Epilepsy and Professor of Neurology Mayo Clinic Kathy O’Hara, RN Child Neurology Virginia Commonwealth University Shelly Meitzler Epilepsy Mom and Community Programs Manager, East TSC Alliance Christie L. Van Cleave Epilepsy ..read more

The Brain Recovery Project has three main questions for those who are considering participating in this study: Does your child have an RNS, VNS, or DBS device implanted to treat drug-resistant epilepsy? Are you considering these devices for your child as a treatment after failing anti-epileptic medication? Or has your child had unsuccessful epilepsy surgery, and now you’re considering a device? If you’ve answered yes to these questions, please go to the following link at https://www.brainrecoveryproject.org/2021/06/16/understanding-the-decision-making-process-around-rns-vns-and-dbs/ and read ..read more

I will never forget the day our epileptologist told us our daughter, Mickie, may never walk, talk or “be normal”. Acceptance of our new reality was a painful but necessary process. I was never embarrassed at becoming a special needs mama but my new reality came with insecurities and worries of my daughters emotional welfare. Would she be accepted? Would they bully her? Can they understand what she’s trying to communicate? Every parent worries but it was amplified because that’s the reality of having a medically complicated child. As she’s overcome and blossomed, I’m still learning how to let g ..read more

IMG_5049 Can you imagine preparing your child for brain surgery? This is what Warrior Mama Dami went through preparing Warrior Baby Marlie for her hemispherectomy that happened on May 5th. In Dami’s words, she and Marlie were ready to “Kick epilepsy to the curb.” They spent the days before Marlie’s surgery cuddling and spending quality time. Then on the eve of the surgery, May 4th, Marlie underwent an early morning MRI. The next day was it was GO TIME! The next day Marlie was out of surgery and in Warrior Mama Dami’s words “Stronger than ever” as “Marlie was a freaking rockstar in the OR”. Ho ..read more

Telemedicine increased in popularity amidst the pandemic for a number of reasons, a key one being a reduced risk of contracting the virus. This trend has trickled down to pediatric care. The 2021 State of Pediatric Telemedicine industry survey revealed that 92% of its pediatric physician respondents believe virtual care will remain favored by patients even after the pandemic. This is in stark contrast to pre-pandemic data when less than 10% of pediatricians offered virtual visits; at the time, telemedicine wasn’t an expectation for families. Now, it may even become a permanent fixtu ..read more