Joel Mayfield

Age: 10
Grade: 5
Market: Knoxville, Tennessee

Joel Mayfield is a charming and friendly boy who, although he started having seizures before his first birthday, it took his mother almost two years to obtain an epilepsy diagnosis from a doctor—even though two of her siblings and both of her parents had epilepsy, thus pointing toward a genetic cause in this case.

He and his family are active members in the epilepsy community, participating in support groups, fundraising projects, summer camps, and many awareness campaigns.

The Mayfields are a family that stick together and believe in doing whatever is necessary to help their son, Joel. They also believe strongly in education and advocacy helping to ease the stigma associated with epilepsy and making more options available to those with epilepsy.

“Everyone can make a difference,” Joel said. “When my Boy Scout den leader found out I had epilepsy, he started making everyone learn about epilepsy as part of their Safety Man merit badge. Now more of my friends and their parents know about epilepsy and what to do when someone has a seizure.”