Meet Brice!

Left to right: Epilepsy Foundation NENY (EFNENY) Executive Director Jeannine Garab, 
CDNY Member Brice Skiff, and EFNENY Counseling and Project Coordinator Sam Champagne

The Epilepsy Foundation Northeastern New York recently featured Care Design NY Member, Brice Skiff, in an inspiring “1 in 26” story on his selfless acts to fundraise for their Foundation and educate his peers on the fourth most common neurological disorder, epilepsy, through his life experiences (see photo above).

Brice was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 11 years old after suffering tonic-clonic seizures. Recently, he hosted a Sweet 16 Party on his birthday, and in lieu of gifts, asked his friends and families to consider donating to the Northeastern New York Epilepsy Foundation. They raised over $500.00 (pictured above is Brice with members of the NENY Epilepsy Foundation and the donation). He is steadfast in his advocacy efforts and making an impact.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder; one in twenty-six over a lifetime.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 3.4 million people in the U.S. with active epilepsy.  It affects people differently, according to the research, and often the cause is unknown. Promoting education about epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Foundation, is critical to create positive change in health care and biomedical innovation and research for the development of new therapies and ultimately, cures for all epilepsies.

His mother shared Brice’s recent acceptance to the Capital Region BOCES Pet Tech program. She stated that he is passionate about caring for animals and as he enters his junior year in high school, he is excited about building a business in pet care and this program will lay the foundation. Click here to learn more about the Pet Tech program.

Care Design NY Care Manager, Kim Orlando, stated, “Brice is an amazing young man that never gives up! He is undaunted by life’s challenges-autism and epilepsy have only made Brice a more tour de force. Brice has become an excellent student and role model in school and at home. Brice strives to do well at any task. He is an accomplished musician-plays 3 instruments, black belt in Japanese Karate, and is an accomplished Unified basketball player and soccer player. Brice has been accepted into the BOCES Pet Tech program for his junior year of high school. Epilepsy has been a lifelong challenge for Brice; however, Brice, along with his supportive parents, have worked diligently on trying various medication regimens and learned a great deal about the diagnosis to mitigate the effect of seizures on his life. Brice has great compassion for others and is always willing to share his personal experiences to help others. Brice cares deeply about people and animals and wants to make the world a better place. It was no surprise that he utilized his sweet 16 birthday party to raise funds for the Epilepsy Foundation. He is quite the kid-so very glad I have the good fortune to know him.”

Brice is a shining example of not letting health challenges stand in the way of doing what he loves!

We invite you to refer to these resources on Epilepsy including information on knowing how to recognize a seizure and provide seizure first aid: