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Newhopebeading started shortly after my daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy. In the early days following her diagnosis, making jewelry kept me from worrying about her. She had been injured during her first seizure, which happened at school. I found that it is impossible to make jewelry and worry at the same time, because you need to focus on what you are doing. Soon, more and more people started asking me to make them jewelry. My husband started to kid with me that I should start a company.

So many people ask me about the name newhopebeading. After her diagnosis, Sam and I both had bracelets (made by someone else) that had charms that said, “Hope”. In the span of 1 week, our “Hope” charms fell off a total of 4 times! I am not usually superstitious, but because Sam was about to go into the hospital for testing, I of course, saw it as some terrible omen…all “Hope” was lost. The 4th time my charm actually fell into the heating vent of my car. I still don’t get how that happened! It was then that it hit me. All “Hope” was not lost. I was just not paying attention. All that was missing was a big hand pointing to the word “HOPE” telling me I should take my husband’s suggestion seriously. That is how newhopebeading was born.

I knew that I would use the skills I had acquired as a way to be an Epilepsy Advocate. Even today, epilepsy is a topic that people shy away from. This stigma keeps people from seeking treatment and makes them feel alone. They are not alone. Epilepsy affects 3 million Americans and 50 million people worldwide. That is more than MS, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease combined!

As for the car, we left the silver charm in its heating system. I figured my old minivan could use all the “Hope” it can get!