Rosemount boy lobbies for epilepsy funds, issues
Meetings with Congress may spur action
Travis Boyum, wearing his much-prized T-shirt given to him by Rosemount High School head football coach Jeff Erdmann that says “Be a Champion,” chases after a basketball at his Rosemount home. Photo by Laura Adelmann
by Laura Adelmann
Thisweek Newspapers
At just 12 years old, Rosemount’s Travis Boyum is achieving big goals in life.
Chief among them is to help raise awareness of epilepsy, the condition he was diagnosed with when he was four years old.
Acting on his conviction, Travis is finishing his year-long position as the Minnesota Epilepsy Foundation’s “Winning Kid,” appearing at events, participating in fundraisers and earning more than $20,000 for the foundation, as well as talking to people about the disease that affects 3 million people in the country.
Some of his most important discussions happened during spring break, when he went to Washington, D.C., and met with representatives of the state’s Congressional delegation – U.S. Rep Keith Ellison, Sen. Al Franken and the staff of Rep. John Kline and Rep. Betty McCollum.
With his mom, Heather, dad, Brett, and siblings, Claire, 9, and Tyler, 4, Travis advocated for increased epilepsy research funding and support for legislation that stops insurance companies from forcing seizure patients to accept generic prescription substitutions for brand-name ones.
“We’re hearing stories of people getting their prescriptions filled and having two or three different kinds of pills. … Between the different generics, there can be up to a 40 percent difference in some of the main ingredients, which can have a huge effect (on patients)” said Heather.
Travis said after meeting with him, Rep. Ellison wants to hold a juvenile health fair to provide information and raise awareness of epilepsy and other childhood diseases.
“We’re going to stay in contact. I think that’s a big step forward for the foundation,” Travis said.
One of the legislative aides Travis met with suffered seizures as a child but had outgrown the disease.
“It was kind of neat to meet someone who is at a higher level that had epilepsy,” Travis said, adding that her story gave him hope.
Living with epilepsy
Since his diagnosis, Travis has taken thrice-daily medication to control seizures, which he calls “blanking out” and Heather describes as a look like he’s daydreaming.
About 17 months ago, they tried to wean him off the medication, but he started taking them again when the seizures returned.
“I’d be in math class or something and the teacher would be on one side of the board, and I’d blank out and the teacher would be on the other side. There’s like all this writing and I’d be like, ‘Where did that come from?’” Travis said.
Despite the disease, Travis participates fully at Rosemount Middle School, playing basketball, lacrosse and, his favorite sport, football.
The community has offered constant encouragement and support to the Boyums, including teachers, team parents and coaches.
Last year, Travis was joined by a large group of Rosemount Irish team members in the Stroll for Epilepsy walk around Lake Phalen, a memory that brought tears to Heather’s eyes.
And, once, when the family returned from vacation, they were stunned to find a package to Travis from Rosemount High School head football coach Jeff Erdmann left at their door.
Inside was a hand-written letter from Erdmann and a T-shirt that stated, “Be a Champion.”
That shirt is one of Travis’s most treasured possessions and he said he wears it a lot; the letter is kept in a safe box.
While Travis’s experience with seizures has been mild, his father, Brett, 41, suddenly experienced a grand mal seizure last year and another one in January.
Perhaps even more so now, the family is intent on helping to conquer epilepsy, and will be providing their DNA for a Columbia University research project exploring a possible genetic connection to epilepsy.
Travis said he feels fortunate that he can go to school and lead a normal life, but wants to be a voice for others who are more affected by the disease.
“There’s definitely other kids who can’t control it, and they have to in some cases be home-schooled or not play sports or be active,” he said. “I really want to raise awareness.”
Travis has done a great job doing just that as the organization’s “Winning Kid,” said Vicki Kopplin, associate executive at the Minnesota Epilepsy Foundation.
“Travis talks so well and he is so amazing,” Kopplin said. “He’s been team captain for at least three years at our Stroll for Epilepsy. …One year he raised a couple thousand dollars and he only had a few weeks. … He’s just one of those kids who makes all kinds of things happen.”
Laura Adelmann is at dceditor@frontiernet.net.
