Marlboro Teen's Keto Book Gives Hope To Families Facing Epilepsy
Marlboro Teen's Keto Book Gives Hope To Families Facing Epilepsy
The scar above Brandon Kopp’s right eye tells the story of how far he’s come.
Marlboro Teen's Keto Book Gives Hope To Families Facing Epilepsy
Kopp was 3 years old when he suffered one of a seemingly endless series of seizures. His head struck the corner of a table in the family room of his Marlboro home, causing a gash above his eyelid.
Marlboro Teen's Keto Book Gives Hope To Families Facing Epilepsy
“It was like somebody holding a string puppet just dropping the strings,” his mother Dawn Kopp recalled. “He would collapse straight down.”
Marlboro Teen's Keto Book Gives Hope To Families Facing Epilepsy
That was one kind of seizure. There were others. Sometimes a hundred in a day.
Marlboro Teen's Keto Book Gives Hope To Families Facing Epilepsy
“He was in such bad shape, we thought he wasn’t going to make it,” Dawn Kopp said.
Marlboro Teen's Keto Book Gives Hope To Families Facing Epilepsy
Brandon Kopp, 17, of Marlboro displays his children’s book, Krazy for Keto, which he published in January about how he overcame severe epilepsy through diet in Marlboro, NJ Monday April 24, 2023.
Marlboro Teen's Keto Book Gives Hope To Families Facing Epilepsy
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Yet here Brandon is, now 17 and a junior at Communications High School in Wall. Not only is he still around, thanks to an aggressive diet that cured his epilepsy. He’s an author, having self-published a children’s book in January about his experiences and treatment — a 40-page illustrated guide to reassure other families with epileptic children that there is hope. Proceeds from the book’s sales are benefiting Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s dietary treatment program in the neurology division.
“It does not surprise me that he wrote something like this, to help other kids,” said Kelly Lang, Brandon’s junior-year English teacher at Communications High School. “He’s a fantastic all-around student and person.”
Brandon Kopp as a toddler getting treated for epilepsy at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
‘Parents loved hearing his story’
Brandon’s book is titled “Krazy for Keto” and details his three-year journey (from ages 3-6) on the medically prescribed ketogenic diet for epilepsy. The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that has become widely known as a weight-loss regimen but was first developed as a treatment for pediatric epilepsy.
Brandon Kopp’s keto-focused breakfast cereal as a toddler was a handful of Cheerios in heavy cream.
It’s not easy….