Karen Zeigenfuss never imagined that her daughter Lauren’s world would be turned upside down.

But at age 8, Lauren was diagnosed with epilepsy after having her first grand mal seizure.

“It was a snow day and she had a seizure,” Zeigenfuss said. “My husband (Paul) picked her up, threw her in his truck and raced to Lehighton hospital with her, not knowing what was going on. It was the scariest experience for him.”

After hospital staff evaluated Lauren and found the cause, life for the family became unknown.

“Since then, she’s had multiple seizures sometimes,” Zeigenfuss said. “Well over 30 seizures a day. It was a huge impact to our family.”

SS. Peter and Paul School, which Lauren attended, had to learn how to care for her if she had one there.

After graduation, she went to Lehighton High School, where the school nurse took care of Lauren.

“Everybody made sure she was safe,” her mom said.

Now, eighteen years later, Lauren is 26 and managing her epilepsy and living a full life.

Lauren’s story is one of many in the country and because of this Carbon County hopes to shed light on this condition.

On Thursday, the county proclaimed November as Epilepsy Awareness Month.

Epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects one in every 26 people.

Ellen Baca, the resource coordinator for the Epilepsy Foundation Eastern Pennsylvania, thanked the commissioners for taking the time to recognize this condition and bring awareness to it.

She said that the foundation is a resource to those diagnosed with epilepsy and has support groups and retreats to help them feel like they are not alone.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner said that prevention to help a person who is having a seizure has come a long way over the years.

Baca agreed, noting that if you see someone having a seizure, you should turn them on their side and cushion their head. Never put anything in their mouths and don’t try to stop the seizure.

Commissioner Chris Lukasevich also pointed out that there is more than the typical grand mal seizures everyone recognizes.

Baca said there are petit mal seizures, which almost looks like the person is in a daze or are on drugs or have a mental illness because they aren’t responding to someone’s calls.

“There’s a lot of seizures like that and they are misunderstood,” Baca said, adding that there are also various types of seizures that affect children, which look like a light switch is turned on and off because the child will be attentive and then quickly just stare off for a second before coming back to the present.

“There is a lack of awareness and understanding about epilepsy,” Zeigenfuss said. “This proclamation is a step toward our goal of bringing epilepsy out of the shadows and erasing the stigma so that people who have seizures don’t feel ashamed or afraid to talk about it.”

For more information about the foundation or on services it provides, visit www.efepa.org.