Meet Sharon McMinn

Winner of the First Women & Epilepsy Initiative "Making a Difference" Award

One of the first things that Sharon McMinn says to people when she meets them is "I like to talk." She has a lot to talk about these days because the Epilepsy Foundation has selected this entrepreneur with epilepsy, community leader, wife and mother, as the winner of the first Women & Epilepsy Initiative "Making a Difference" Award.

The award recognizes the valuable contributions women with epilepsy make in their communities and the example they set to help other women with the condition empower themselves in seeking optimal health care.

The Sherwood, Arkansas resident received a cash prize of $1,500 and a trip to the Epilepsy Foundation's annual conference, October 25-27, 2001, where she received the award during a special gala ceremony.

"McMinn's genuine spirit and vision of education and support for epilepsy patients is incredible. She has been involved in helping others with epilepsy for most of her adult life. She always has a passion to make people with epilepsy feel empowered," says Judy Hess, an epilepsy nurse specialist with the Arkansas Epilepsy Program who nominated McMinn for the award.

Sharon McMinn had her first seizure when she was 6 years old. It was a Saturday morning, just like any other. She was eating cereal and watching her favorite TV show, The Lone Ranger. The next thing she remembered she was looking up at the worried face of her mother. The cereal was spilled all over the floor, The Lone Ranger was no longer on television, and everything was a blur. What had happened? Where was she? And why was her mom so worried?

She was taken to the hospital for tests where she was diagnosed with epilepsy. After a few years with good medical care and proper medication, her seizures went into remission and she was able to go off medicines.

At age 26, however, everything would change. A few weeks after the birth of her second child, she began having headaches and what she thought were fainting spells. One day after one of her "spells," her mom took her to the hospital where a doctor informed them Sharon had just had a seizure. The epilepsy had come back and her life was turned upside down.

Her driver's license was taken from her. She was a young mother with two children and dependent on others for transportation. She had to plan things and rely on others to drive her to the grocery store and doctors' appointments.

McMinn didn't know it but her long road with epilepsy was just beginning.

One day she was in the kitchen when her daughter came in from playing outside to say, "Mom, the grass is jumping." Fear spilled over Sharon McMinn's body. After sitting in the hospital waiting room for over two hours while an EEG was done, the doctor came out to tell her she was right. Her daughter was having seizures. The doctor started explaining about epilepsy when she spoke up and said, "I understand, I have epilepsy myself." In the middle of a full waiting room, the doctor asked her why she had decided to have children and why her parents did not sterilize her as a child.

McMinn froze. Was this her fault? What had she done? She began to cry. Another physician intervened; however, the damage had been done.

In the summer of 1979, she was helping her sister wallpaper her new house and began to feel faint. After going to the doctor, she was told that she was going to have another baby. Sharon McMinn was so excited. Finally, something good was happening. The past two years had been very stressful and it was like getting a big breath of fresh air.

When she told her neurologist the great news, he stated that she should not have this child and recommended that she end the pregnancy. The neurologist explained that because of the three medications she was taking to control her seizures, it would be very dangerous for her and that the baby would not be normal. The neurologist told her that he would not be able to keep her as a patient if she chose to continue the pregnancy.

McMinn was 29 years old, two months pregnant, and weighed 87 pounds, but she wanted to have her third child. Her mother told her about a new ob/gyn who had opened a practice in North Little Rock. She called the office and made an appointment. The ob/gyn agreed to monitor her closely. He also gave her a referral to a new neurologist.

On March 11, she delivered a beautiful son named Brian Patrick. He had all ten fingers and ten toes and was a healthy baby boy. He was beautiful. She had not experienced any problems during the delivery.

Sharon McMinn's neurologist worked with her medications and soon she was able to drive and her life was back to normal. She knew it was time for her to take charge of her life.

With the probability of having seizures, did she dare apply for a job? She filled out an application in the mayor's office and was immediately hired. She had a drive to succeed and felt she was finally in a position to help others deal with some of the problems she had faced.

Sharon McMinn wrote a coloring book entitled "A Girl Named Sam" for children and used her own money to print and take these books, with a set of coloring pens, to local doctors' offices and children's hospitals. "A Girl Named Sam" is now being distributed in three states. She writes and circulates a monthly newsletter and is in the process, with assistance from health care providers at the Arkansas Epilepsy Program, of starting an Epilepsy Foundation affiliate in Arkansas.

McMinn now owns and operates a voice and music school that has put her in contact with several people who have epilepsy or have family members with epilepsy. She has had many opportunities to share her experiences with others.

One woman with epilepsy wrote a letter of support for McMinn's nomination for the award: "Soon after meeting Sharon I told her that I had epilepsy and my gums were bleeding. Sharon told me that she had epilepsy and she really helped me to begin to take care of myself better...There were many times that I went to the hospital and Sharon would always come to see me...Two years ago Sharon and her husband talked to the people at the new Wal-Mart and got me a job there. It is great to work."

"I am humbled and excited to receive this award," says Sharon McMinn. "I want to keep making a difference and spreading the word to others about epilepsy."

Merit Award Recipients:
Jessica Baccus: A powerful advocate for others with disabilities by working for inclusion and community-based education in Michigan schools.
Tricia Dalley: Diagnosed with epilepsy as a child in rural Maine, she was led to believe that motherhood was not an option for her. Now a nurse with two children, she promotes the North American AED Pregnancy Registry and serves as a volunteer with the Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia.
Christy Lynn Parker: During her own search for seizure control, she saw many unmet needs for people with epilepsy in her hometown of Lawton, Oklahoma. She now facilitates supports group, arranges epilepsy conferences attended by hundreds of people, participates in the Kids on the Block puppet program, and has given many interviews to increase public understanding about epilepsy.

The Women & Epilepsy Initiative "Making a Difference" Award is underwritten by a grant from GlaxoSmithKline.