Brandy's Personal Posts, For Physicians, Girls With Epilepsy

Dr. Sandra Helmers Memorial Scholarship

Posted on by Brandy
05
Dec

I wanted to unveil this exciting news during our annual American Epilepsy Society (AES) meeting! I am writing to share with you about our newest award from the My Epilepsy Story (MES) organization, the Dr. Sandra Helmers Memorial Scholarship for young women living with epilepsy that want to go to college or trade school.  Dr. Helmers was a founding board member of our organization and had such a huge impact on many people throughout the epilepsy community especially our organization.  She was always one of the first people to jump in to help anyone without asking for anything in return.  I remember meeting Dr. Helmers in 2012 while visiting Dr. Kimford Meador at Emory as I was trying to process my personal epilepsy story before our organization was even a dream.  Dr. Helmers personally helped me with navigating my journey of having a son with autism and all that it entailed.  She offered advice and lots of understanding as I was struggling on what to do next.

 
As I came to terms with my personal story, I decided that we needed something more for women and girls with epilepsy.  Dr. Helmers jumped in to support these efforts.  She was a founding board member of our organization and continued until she was not able to do so any longer.  Dr. Helmers encouraged me to continue learning with these words “Education is the key to success in whatever you hope to accomplish.”  She introduced me and our organization to many people over the years, one of which was Dr. Suzette LaRoche. When Dr. Helmers passed away in 2016 our organization and epilepsy community was left with a hole in our hearts… I knew that one day I wanted to establish a scholarship in her name to ensure her legacy lived on and that girls living with epilepsy would be encouraged to learn and further their education. I am thankful for Dr. LaRoche and all of her hard work to help this dream become a reality.
 
 

Please join with us to share this scholarship with others in the epilepsy community and please donate here to honor of Dr. Sandra Helmers.  We will begin accepting applications in spring of 2021. 

 
~Brandy Parker-McFadden 
 
 
Brandy