Brittany Backenhaster’s mother, Jamie, described her as a child who was “full of life” and loved singing in church. One morning, Jamie found her daughter on the floor of her bedroom gurgling and shaking.
She was having a grand mal seizure, something Jamie was familiar with herself. Jamie took control of her disorder with medication, but when conventional measures failed for Brittany, they started to lose hope that Brittany would ever live a regular life — or even live.
Jamie felt personally responsible. “I blamed myself a lot. I gave my daughter this sickness,” she told the Christian Broadcasting Network. Brittany had to wear a helmet to protect her during her seizures and took costly medication to help her.
