Fugett Students Raise Money for Epilepsy Awareness

November is Epilepsy Awareness Month, and students and staff at Fugett Middle School raised funds for epilepsy awareness and research for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).  This year's Fugett DOMinates Epilepsy fundraiser grew leaps and bounds over last year's, with donations totaling more than $3,600. Last year's total was slightly over $500.

The fundraiser was inspired by 5-year-old Dominic "DOMinator" Rosini, the grandson of Elizabeth Scolis, a special education teacher at the school. Dominic suffers from Doose Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy.

Funds were raised through online donations for a dodgeball tournament, the sale of snacks, purple epilepsy bracelets, and ribbons.

On Friday, November 11, students from each grade level participated in a round-robin style dodgeball tournament, culminating in the winning team from each grade playing their teachers. After the tournament, a check was presented to CHOP representative, Ellie Paparone.

Mrs. Scolis calls Dominic, "our little warrior." He was hospitalized 11 times within the first year of receiving his diagnosis.

Epilepsy affects everyone differently. Scolis says her grandson's motor skills have been impacted as a result of his seizures.

According to the Epilepsy Foundation, 3.4 million people in the United States have epilepsy. 1 in 26 people in the United States will develop epilepsy at some point in their life. While not as common, seizures can cause death. Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) was determined to be the cause of death of popular Disney actor Cameron Boyce. The actor, known for his role in the Descendants film trilogy, passed away from SUDEP at the age of 20.

 For more information on epilepsy, visit www.epilepsy.com.