Thaindian News

June 28, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): David Axelrod, advisor to President Obama, is facing a battle of gigantic proportions. Both he and his wife Susan find themselves fighting with one of the deadliest enemies of mankind, the epilepsy. Their oldest child Lauren had been diagnosed with it.

David recently spoke to the 60 minutes correspondent Katie Couric, about his experiences. He along with his wife are now part of the process which understands the need for finding a solution to this medical problem. He had been quite unaware about the disease until he found Lauren, his seven month old daughter lying listlessly in her crib stricken by epilepsy.

Susan Axelrod recollects the horrifying experience while she explains that she had thought her child was dead. The classical symptoms of seizure manifest itself as soon as the child was picked up with the body stiffening, eyes rolling back together with frothing from the mouth. Epilectic seizures are known to be caused by sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain. Some of the patients cease to have the seizures after they grow up while others can control it to some extent with the aid of medication.

However, Lauren continued to suffer from epilepsies as she grew up. Susan describes herself overridden by a sense of helplessness as she watched her daughter struggle through the seizures begging her to make them stop.

She is now grown up having attained 28 years of age. But her brain has suffered damage due to the severe and frequent epileptic seizures. She is currently living in Misericordia Home, Chicago.

Susan along with two of such mothers have now started CURE which aims to fund the research for finding out an effective cure for epilepsy. “It does seem so unfair that this dreaded disease has been around from time immemorial yet does not receive the adequate funding to carry out a proper research. “ says Susan.

Dr. Frances Jensen of Boston’s Children Hospital has been known to make some headway and receives a part of the money from CURE.