CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) - 19-year-olds Megan and Morgan Marko know a lot about the importance of timing. They share a unique bond; dealing with seizures from epilepsy for 13 years, each seizure needing to be timed before reaching, what they call, "a danger zone" at five minutes long.
"Every time a medication gets changed, it could potentially put them into a seizure. Stress, lack of sleep, but not one time have I ever heard these two girls complain," says their stepmother, Angel Marko. "They're in sync all the time."
The twins can't drive and can't be alone because of how severe their seizures are. Their father says it could be caused by genetics or premature birth. "Every time they have a seizure, it's like the first time again. It's so hard as the family to witness 'cause it's a helpless situation," says Steve Marko. "The girls are my world. They are our everything."
The sisters say they can't remember when they have a seizure. "You just go blank," Morgan explains. Megan continues, "When you turn your head and then you fall, you just go out. I wake up with bruises on me." Their father adds, "Their hands will turn in and go into convulsions."
They began having absent seizures in 2007, which are not nearly as violent as the grand mal seizures they have now. Angel says, "We caught one on security camera that Megan had that we had no idea she had. You just never know when it's going to happen."
However, an unexpected emergency - and an abrupt introduction - is leading to an overwhelming amount of support for the Marko sisters and their family.
Registered Nurse Randi Twoey has worked with Steve and Angel for the last ten years, but had never met their daughters until June this year.
Twoey found Megan covered in blood outside of her office having a seizure, one of seven Megan experienced that month, causing her to fall into a wall and onto concrete. Twoey responded immediately, not realizing it was the daughter of her long-time friends.
"That seizure lasted four to five minutes. For me, it felt like a lifetime," Twoey recalls. "It was a really scary thing to see, even being a registered nurse. This was like no other. This was a kid, lying on the sidewalk, helpless, who needed help that day."
It was this sudden introduction that introduced all of them to a new mission: raising money for a seizure dog.
"I thought about Megan that day, and I'm probably gonna start crying, but just to see her the way she was, I knew that I had to step in and I had to do something. And I had to do something big to try to raise this money," she continues.
"The community has been amazing," says Steve. "Randi has taken this whole thing from just asking a general question to how we go about getting a seizure dog and how it can help the girls, she made this what it is."
Twoey began uniting the community to find the answer. Researching the benefits of this service immediately, she began online fundraisers for the twins. "These dogs are trained for about a year and a half to pick up the scent or the pheromones the girls would leave off five minutes prior to them having an actual grand mal seizure."
Twoey also began planning a benefit concert. "This concert at the Wagon Wheel [Amphitheater] on August 29th is gonna start at noon. It has to start at noon, and is probably gonna run until about midnight, because we have so many people who have offered to come out and play and donate their time and their efforts to help these two beautiful girls raise the money," Twoey explains, calling the benefit concert a team effort. "Without everybody helping me, I would not be able to do this on my own."
With nearly $9,000 raised so far, they're a little under halfway to their goal. The benefit concert will adhere to pandemic safety measures and there will be activities and competitions, where the money will be split in half between the winner and the girls' fund.
Admission is $10, parking is $5 and all of that money goes toward helping the twins feel secure and relieved by getting a seizure dog that can provide protection, independence and alert them to get to a safe environment.
Angel explains, "When the girls have a seizure, they fall where they are. So, if they're coming down the stairs, if they're on concrete, in a pool, wherever - those dogs are going to alert approximately five minutes before a seizure happens so that person can get to safety."
Two worlds coming together. Timed just right.
You can help by donating to the Marko sisters' GoFundMe, Facebook Fundraiser or by attending the benefit concert at the end of the month.
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