The Journey to the Truth
— Meagan Earley

My late daughter, Austen, loved birthdays, even when they weren’t her own. She loved any opportunity for a celebration, cake, and presents. And hers or not, she was going to help open them.

It’s been one year since we lost Austen, my 9-year-old daughter who passed away due to complications of Dravet syndrome. One year without her kisses and her sweet voice asking if I need…

I went back to work a little over a month after losing Austen, my 9-year-old daughter who passed away from complications of Dravet syndrome. Many asked me how I could do it,…

This June, for Dravet Syndrome Awareness Month, many articles are going to give you statistics, numbers, and graphs that show how horrible this disease is. I want to paint you a different picture.

I made a deal with my late daughter, Austen, when she was just 1 year old. The deal was that she’d make it to 10. That was because she had Dravet syndrome, and…

I’ve known since I was a small child that whenever I pass, I want to go to a specific cemetery. It sounds odd, I know, but five generations of family ahead of me have…

When my daughter Austen passed away last summer, I honestly believed I wouldn’t be able to survive the pain. She was 9 years old, and I’d spent eight and a half of those years…

Yearbooks are like mirrors that give us a glimpse into the past. As a teacher, I love looking at them. During the school year, I’m so focused on the daily ins and outs of…

My family moved to Colorado when Austen, my daughter who last summer passed away at age 9 from complications of Dravet syndrome, was just a year old. We moved to get her access…

Austen, my 9-year-old who passed away from Dravet syndrome last summer, was the only one of my children I named. Addisen, her 17-year-old sister, and Atlas, her 11-year-old brother, were named by their…

None of my children are exactly alike, and I like it that way. Each has an individual, vibrant personality; while one might like theater, another favors video games. Siblings, whether they share the…