“I was diagnosed in 1996 with temporal lobe epilepsy. I endured 15 to 20 seizures per day... In 1999 I underwent surgery to remove scar tissue on the brain. In 2005 I had a vagus nerve stimulator implanted. Due to the brain surgery my left side became neurologically impaired and I sat in a wheelchair for four years and lived in a nursing home. My knee suffered degenerative bone loss and my left foot became deformed due to the same surgery. I weighed 217 pounds because of seizure medications and a gastro intestinal feeding tube. I was not allowed to stand or walk on my own. I could not hold a spoon, feed myself or go to the bathroom, dress myself or contribute to society in any meaningful way.Today, I am so thrilled to be able to walk unassisted in [the L.A.] marathon with my new left foot, magically reconstructed by Dr. Kenneth Park, as well as my amazing knee replacement by the wonderful Dr. Todd Schrader, both at [Coastal Ortho Advanced Orthopedics].”
–Claire O'Keefe, excerpted from her fundraising page on crowdrise.com