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2005 Kids Speak Up! Participant Biography

Kids Speak Up! logoCourtney Elizabeth Cazes

Age: 15
Grade: 9
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

"After all I went through, it was a great relief to know that I wasn't mentally ill. The diagnosis validated my experiences."
- Courtney

For Courtney Cazes, epilepsy has been a constant emotional roller coaster. Courtney was diagnosed with mental health problems including depression, anxiety disorder and obsessive convulsive behavior. She was prescribed Paxil, Zoloft and Tofranil to manage her "mental illness." Finally, after years of feeling like she was dying because her symptoms constantly reappeared, she experienced a grand mal seizure, and after several tests was diagnosed with complex partial epilepsy.

Since identifying her seizure disorder, Courtney has become a well-adjusted teenager relying on support from family, friends, teachers and the Epilepsy Foundation of Louisiana.

By participating in Kids Speak Up!, Courtney wants to advocate for informing physicians, caregivers and parents about seizure conditions to improve early detection of epilepsy.

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