I hope this letter finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe. During these unprecedented times, it can be difficult to steer attention away from the COVID-19 virus that is threatening and altering our lives in ways we could never have anticipated.

I want to assure you, however, that our commitment to epilepsy research is unwavering. We recognize the need to be nimble and responsive to the changing needs of our research community. And we remain steadfastly passionate about our patients and families and the need to continue the work we began for them 20 years ago.

My life’s work began one bitter cold morning in January of 1982. I woke up to find my seven-month-old daughter, Lauren, lying blue and limp in her crib. When I picked her up her eyes rolled back, one arm stiffened above her head, and she frothed at the mouth. I didn’t know what a seizure was at the time, but I knew I had put a perfectly healthy baby girl to bed the night before. The answers we desperately sought to stop her seizures and to cure her epilepsy did not exist. Every day since, it has been my mission to find those answers – for Lauren and the millions of others whose lives have also been impacted.

We will continue to seek those answers thanks to your support and the tireless work of scientists around the world. Since 1998, CURE has led a transformational shift in epilepsy research, focusing our efforts and dollars on new, innovative approaches to tackling this beastly disease. We have seen some extraordinary results:

• New hope for uncontrollable pediatric epilepsy cases
• A potential genetic cause for sudden death in children
• A potential biomarker for post-traumatic epilepsy

These are only a few research highlights, and while we have a lot to celebrate, our work is far from over. I founded CURE at my kitchen table with a group of parents who were as devastated as I was at the lack of understanding and research funding for this wretched disease that impacts 3.4 million Americans and 65 million people worldwide.

Our vision at CURE is simple: a world free of epilepsy. It is a dream we all share and one that only research can help us realize. Every day our leading scientists explore new theories and approaches to tackling this horrific disease. Every day we are searching for the next innovative projects in which to invest. Every day our research team reviews cutting-edge science that may help lead us to a cure. And every day we are reminded that the only thing standing between us and a scientific breakthrough is money for research.

There is no better feeling than notifying scientists that we will fund their research, yet there are too many times when we can’t, simply because we don’t have the dollars to do so.

This is where you come in. To accelerate progress, we must act now. Research is expensive, and your contribution today ensures that future lives will no longer be defined, devastated, or lost to epilepsy.

Scientific breakthroughs will lead us to a cure. Please join me in making a gift to CURE today and help ensure a brighter future for both researchers and patients in the epilepsy community

With gratitude and unrelenting determination,

Susan Axelrod
Founder

PS: New under the CARES Act, taxpayers may be eligible for a larger tax deduction when they donate to CURE. Click here for more details.