Silhouette interview with Roni-Kay Elser | Spanish newspaper

From Silhouette by Tiffany Razzano
Originally published on April 19, 2024

Ronnie-Kaye Elser was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was six weeks old, after she experienced a major seizure triggered by a high fever. “I didn’t know anything after that,” she said.
The condition runs in her family. “It’s a genetic thing,” the West Palm Beach native said. “My great-grandmother used to have what they call ‘spasms.’ ”
But she didn’t let that stop her. Her father, who has two brothers, also loved sports, so she was an active person in her youth, participating in gymnastics, figure skating, swimming and other activities. “I taught myself from a young age that I could feel them coming,” she said. “I would find someone or sit down. Ninety percent of the time, I had a premonition and could feel them coming.”
The family moved to Polk County in 1991 when Elser was in junior high school, and she graduated from Bartow High School.
Since then, she has pursued a variety of careers. Initially, she was interested in journalism. “I loved stories and wanted to be behind the scenes,” she said.
She has worked in accounting, environmental permitting and carving.
But one of her early jobs was in the medical field. She frequently visited doctors because she suffered from epilepsy. One of her doctors once told her, “You understand, and you explain it better than I ever could to my patients, and I don’t need to question it,” she said. He hired her to work as a secretary in his office, and she eventually became the office manager.
After her divorce, Elser switched careers and began working for Hillsborough County Public Schools so she could keep the same schedule as her children. She was hired as a production coordinator for the school kitchen.
Today, she is the student nutrition manager for two schools – Brandon High School and Waimauma Elementary School.
She is also an activist in the epilepsy community. From a young age, she has been an ambassador for the Epilepsy Foundation, telling her story to reporters and events, and attending a summer camp in the Everglades. “I always wanted to make people aware that we are not the only ones with epilepsy. There are others,” she said.
As an adult, Elser had eight to 10 seizures a day. She’d had up to 108 in a single day. “It was very up and down,” she said. “Some months with seizures, some year without. It was very volatile. I’ve been through medication, trial and error, all of that throughout my life.”
Her turning point came in January 2008, when she suffered a seizure while driving on Interstate 75. “Luckily, I got the attention of my friends, or I wouldn’t be here today,” she said. “I was like, ‘Enough is enough. Something has to be done.’”
After some research, Elser learned that Tampa General Hospital was looking for qualified candidates for a new brain surgery. “The stakes were high,” she said.
Doctors concluded that all of her seizure activity was occurring on the left side of her brain and agreed to a temporal lobectomy of the left side of her brain. Doctors warned her that there might be some side effects, but she felt very little after the surgery and she did not need any medication.
The success inspired her to start the Seize the Day Foundation. “I wanted to get the word out,” Elser said.
The organization works closely with patients to educate the public about epilepsy and the various treatment options available. She and her team also assist TGH in counseling new patients and tell people about her experience with the surgery.
Seize the Moment also raises money to cover medical expenses, such as co-pays, and for epilepsy research and development. The fund was established in partnership between TGH and the University of South Florida Physician Group.
For the past five years, Elsay’s main fundraisers have been sporting events — bowling outings and professional hockey, football and baseball games — and its barbecue competition, “Que for the Cure.”
She launched the contest during the coronavirus pandemic, and while she’s still working on it, she’s already raised about $256,000 for the cause through all of her events.
The next barbecue fundraiser, Que for the Cure, will be held in Riverview on August 23 and 24. This year, 70 barbecue teams will participate in the event, which is still seeking sponsors.
The event was inspired by her husband, a barbecue professional who owns a shop that makes and produces sauces and seasonings. In fact, he even created two seasonings and a sauce to sell as a “Seize the Day” fundraiser. They will be sold at upcoming barbecue competitions.
Elser’s goal is to help as many people as possible, whether it’s supporting patients or educating the community.
“(Epilepsy) is more common than you think. It’s more common than 90 percent of neurological diseases, like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, but people are more aware of it than epilepsy,” she said.
In fact, epilepsy affects 1 in 100 people, she added. “There are approximately 67 million people with epilepsy worldwide. I just want to help as many people as possible and to help the doctors who help them.”