The Hope for Healing Initiative was established in 2023 to ensure that families (like ours) faced with the unpredictable challenges of having a child with epilepsy can access mental health resources to help ease the emotional burden caused by this incurable disease.

Mission Statement:

To improve the lives of children and families living with epilepsy by raising funds in partnership with Epilepsy Foundation Los Angeles to hire full-time Child Psychology Fellows in Neurology at UCLA Health in Los Angeles and around Southern California.

How We Make It Possible:

We have partnered with UCLA Health to establish fellowships so that pediatric mental health professionals can be trained to support people living with or loving someone with epilepsy.

Our Inspiration:

Our daughter, Henley, was born with a very rare form of epilepsy called Aicardi Syndrome, affecting only 1 in 1 million children globally. She came home from the hospital like every other healthy baby, with our older son happy with the job of being a big brother. That changed within just a few short months, altering literally everything about our lives from that moment forward.

From her very first seizure at 2 months of age, the exceptional team of neurologists, doctors and staff at UCLA have been Henley’s guardian angels, there to help guide us through the complicated medical maze of decisions we found ourselves suddenly thrust into.

Henley has multiple seizures every single day and as she suffers, our hearts and minds suffer right alongside our beautiful girl. But, through all of the dark unknown, Henley has taught us how to live the ‘art of impossible', by shining even more brightly. Her fierce spirit and tireless fight against her physical disease has been profound inspiration.

What we have learned over the past 12 years, is that medical care only goes so far in support of the daily, bigger picture of living with and/or caring for a child with an incurable disease. Our initiative is dedicated to creating a new type of support for families that face this painful journey.

In honor of Henley, and all the children who suffer with any form of epilepsy – and for those who wake up every day to care for them – we believe there is Hope for Healing.

Thank you for your support,

Matt & Jen Edelman