Veteran Ryan O’Connor (a/k/a ROC) was diagnosed with Epilepsy at about 36 years old. Since then, he has gone through multiple doctors, the full gambit of medications, and three brain surgeries with no answers as to what caused the Epilepsy or remedies to keep him from having seizures.
In 2020, he had an implant placed on his brain so that it could stop seizures before they happen. However, Ryan’s seizures stem from deep in his brain and spread to both sides of his brain making him not a typical candidate for the type of implant placed. Ryan still suffers from seizures and constant adjustments to his medications and the implant in effort to stop his seizures completely.
While it has never been determined the cause of ROC’s Epilepsy, he recognizes that over 100,000 service members have returned home with battle induced seizure disorders and over 3 million Americans have Epilepsy. ROC also recognizes that Epilepsy awareness and research is a severely underfunded area. He and his wife, Marissa, therefore created ROC Stop Seizures, a 501(c)(3) corporation, with the mission to raise awareness for those with Epilepsy and Veterans with Battle Induced Seizure Disorders.
Ryan and Marissa met before Ryan was diagnosed but dated and got married several years after his diagnosis. As a patient and a caregiver, Ryan and Marissa have lived through Ryan’s many unsuccessful medication changes and adjustments, Ryan’s different types of seizures with no explanation, and Ryan’s hospitalizations and brain implant surgery.
Ryan and Marissa started ROC Stop Seizures in 2022 to raise awareness for people like Ryan with Epilepsy and for those Veterans with Battle Induced Seizure Disorders. One in 26 people will be diagnosed with Epilepsy and 1 in 10 people will have a seizure in their life. Yet there is little research and knowledge about the conditions. It is ROC Stop Seizures’ goal to increase the awareness needed to increase research, education, and treatments that will help those with Epilepsy and Veterans with Battle Induced Seizure Disorders.
