“The neurologist told me there was nothing more to do, that my daughter would probably die in about eight months,” said Alejandra Arreola, mother of a minor with epilepsy that used to have 80 daily attacks. “In her condition, she could die of a cardiopulmonary arrest at any moment.”
Alejandra’s seven-year-old daughter never showed symptoms of any serious illness until the age of 3, when her epilepsy started. Alejandra and her husband looked for help in private hospitals and specialized neurologists but no treatment seemed to improve her condition. Instead, the medication just worked to sedate her.
“My daughter was taking six different prescribed medicines. In that time she had attacks every five minutes. She was not speaking. She could stand up by herself, but someone had to be next to her all the time,” Alejandra stated. “So I had to quit my job to dedicate myself 100 percent to her. But no medication was working and I did not want to keep her sedated, so we refused to accept their diagnosis.”
Alejandra stated that the hospitals and doctors they reached out for help were just prescribing treatments according to their medical representatives and the pharmaceutical partners they have business with. They never told her there were alternative treatments for her daughter.