Due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the check presentation was moved from March to September to allow for a safe and socially distant gathering.
USF Health neurology patient, Roni-Kay Lopez, and her Seize the Moment Foundation presented a combined $15,000 to benefit epilepsy research and patient care at USF Health and Tampa General Hospital last month.
Roni-Kay had been suffering from epilepsy for almost 30 years before she became a patient at USF Health and Tampa General Hospital (TGH) in 2008, after she suffered a seizure behind the wheel of her car. She had been under the care of other physicians but her seizure intensity had doubled in about the span of a year, as she was taking over the maximum medication dosage allowed, and needed a second opinion.
Shortly after having a seizure behind the wheel of her car, Lopez reached out to Selim Benbadis, MD, professor and director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at USF Health and Tampa General Hospital. Dr. Benbadis conducted an evaluation and several tests, and concluded that Lopez’s epilepsy was confined to the left temporal lobe of her brain. Lopez later underwent surgery to remove a small part of the left temporal lobe and on April 24, she celebrated her 12th anniversary of being seizure and medication-free.
Lopez fought her epilepsy condition since childhood. “I was told ‘you wouldn’t live past 16,’ and ‘you would never have kids,’ but I was not going to let it stop me,” said the now 42-year-old mother of two.
USF Health surgically treats 45-55 epilepsy patients each year at Tampa General Hospital. A fearless advocate, Roni-Kay now shares her experiences with many of these patients and family members considering the same procedure that cured her epilepsy.
Grateful neurology patient and founder of Seize the Moment Foundation, Roni-Kay Lopez, and Dr. Selim Benbadis, USF Health neurologist.
“Roni-Kay is not the only patient to have her epilepsy cured through surgery, but she is well-spoken and her passion is so important for getting the word out,” said Dr. Selim Benbadis, the USF Health physician who successfully treated Lopez’s epilepsy 12 years ago at Tampa General Hospital. “To this day, many people who would benefit from this procedure are either unaware of it, or have misconceptions about it.”
Shortly after her surgery, Roni-Kay started her own non-profit called the “Seize the Moment Foundation,” which is an organization that is designed to assist financial burdens that epileptic patients endure. The foundation also works to raise awareness of epilepsy care and conducts fundraising events to help patients fight epilepsy. Through the Seize the Moment fundraisers, such as events at Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Rays games, Lopez has raised money and has made multiple gifts to USF Health and Tampa General Hospital since its establishment in 2016.
“The care and help that I got at USF Health and TGH means my life. I’m here. I’ve made it through it and have overcome battling seizures and have made a huge step after overcoming brain surgery,” said Lopez.
Half of the Seize the Moment gift will benefit research through the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at USF Health, which Dr. Benbadis directs, and the other half will benefit epilepsy care at Tampa General Hospital.
To support neurology and neurosurgery research at USF Health, please visit giving.usf.edu/neuroscience.
Story by Davina Gould and Jessica Martinez, USF Health Development and Alumni Relations. Photos by Torie Doll, USF Health Communications.