Mimi: A Story About Absence Seizures

At first it looks like the person is just daydreaming, maybe, staring into space while lost in thought. But they don’t respond when you call their name, and just when you start to worry, they seem to wake up and act as if nothing had happened.

That’s an absence seizure, and Mariah Mayhugh started having them when she was seven years old. “I grew up with two different types of epilepsy,” she says. Many people think they know what an epileptic seizure looks like, but they might not know about absence epilepsy. Mariah looked for a book for children with absence epilepsy and she couldn’t find one readily available, so she’s writing “Mimi: A Story About Absence Seizures” with her (graphic designer) sister, Sophia, providing the illustrations.

Mariah wants to self-publish and give copies for free to newly diagnosed kids at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

“Eventually, I’d love to be able to give away copies to hospitals across America! After living through epilepsy, I know how scary it is and I want to provide a book to every child that needs one,” says Mariah. She’s 19 now, seizure-free for four years, and eager to help ease the way for others.

Our own Awesome Without Borders Trustee Glenna Fraumeni told us about this video explaining absence seizures and what to do if someone you’re with has one. (Short answer: don’t freak out, keep them safe.)