Mya is my hero. She is the strongest person I know, with the biggest heart and the most will power.
She had her first seizure on 10/31/09. At her worst, she was up to 30 seizures per day. After several months with another hospital, we decided to switch to Children’s Memorial (now Lurie Children’s). This was the best decision we have ever made. They introduced us to the ketogenic diet. On 4/5/10, she began the ketogenic diet. By July, she was seizure-free and has been seizure-free ever since!
She started on the diet just after her 3rd birthday. We struggled with the concept of explaining how all of this was going to work to a 3yr old. We basically told her that if she didn’t want to have seizures anymore, she needed to eat “magic food”. On the day she came home from the hospital, she walked up to me with a pretzel, one of her favorite treats, and said, “Here, Mommy, I can’t eat this. It’s not magic.” Her will power and determination have been an inspiration to everyone around her. She never complains and even wants to be a chef when she grows up!
Mya just had her 6th birthday. She is pictured below eating her favorite meal, blueberry pancakes, for her birthday. We recently received word that she is ready to begin the process of weaning her off of the diet. We are completely overjoyed. Those were the words that we have been waiting to hear for 3 long years.
They say God will only give you what you can handle. Well, if she can handle this, she can handle anything. Words can’t express how proud we are of our special girl.
We owe our success and unending gratitude to Dr. Melissa Cirillo, Robyn Blackford, and the entire epilepsy team at Lurie Children’s Hospital. Without you, none of this would have been possible. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
Keto Hero is a place where kids can be encouraged and caregivers can see how resilient keto kids are while being treated with the ketogenic diet. Please send in pictures of your keto hero and tell us why you are proud of them! E-mail to: ketocookmail@gmail.com
Dear Mya,
I am very proud of you! I am so happy you are feeling better. I hope we can play soon
Love,
Angelina Petrando
Hey Parker! Just wanted to let you know we are all so proud of you. You are so strong and we all admire you. You have done an amazing job and I think it’s safe to say you kicked the “magic diets butt” !
We love you Mya, you’re our hero👍🎉
Way to go kid!!! Abby, elly, and richie are cheering u on!!!
What a great story. Keep up posted on her progress when she’s weaned off the diet!
I am always so proud of all the keto heros that I read about and work with in school as a school nurse.