2006 Kids Speak Up! Participant Biography

Harleigh Lukaart

Age: 10
Grade: 4
Hometown: Jenison, Michigan

"You know, when I first learned I had epilepsy, I was going garbanzo beans and I thought it was some horrible disease that you could die from. But just check out a website and you can find out more about it. It's just a simple thing that anyone can have."

Harleigh is an athletic 10 year old who is fond of the outdoors and loves horses. Her parents and teachers say she has a large vocabulary, is precocious, social and eager to share what she knows about epilepsy.

When she was seven months old, Harleigh had her first seizure - a severe grand mal putting her in critical condition. The grand mal seizures led to frequent petit mal seizures. Over the years, Harleigh has taken many different medications, including Depakote sprinkles, and her current regimen of Depakote^ER. Depakote has successfully managed her epilepsy for more than six years. The seizures are now few and far between, averaging about one a year.

Now just a month shy of her 11^th birthday, Harleigh says she doesn't think about her epilepsy much. "Epilepsy is just a disorder people have from birth," she says. "It doesn't come from a mother or father; it just happens. It's one of the mysterious things of life."

Harleigh loves to educate others about epilepsy, and takes her condition in stride.

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