ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN

Please make a tax deductible donation today and support final filming of this important story. We envision this film’s impact as an advocacy tool for agencies to better address the needs of marginalized groups. We also feel strongly that Terah’s story will empower others from marginalized groups to continue to seek out and demand the health care and support they deserve.

Any donation amount will help us reach our goal! Thank you for your support!

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24-year-old Terah Williams struggles for dignity and autonomy across state borders as she seeks treatments for her sudden onset of severe epilepsy since age 14. The camera follows Terah and her family as she looks for answers and fights for a normal life, despite the medical racism she faces.

SYNOPSIS

What happens when broken social service systems threaten to tear your life apart? SEIZE THE DAY documents the journey of Terah Williams, a 24-year-old woman battling for dignity and autonomy across state borders as she struggles to survive a mysterious neurological disorder causing twenty or more seizures per day. At age 14, Terah’s life abruptly changed at the onset of an illness which restricted her physically and socially. Pulled from school, then hospitalized, she is catapulted into a desperate search for answers in a failed health system.

As a Black woman in the deep South, Terah struggles in a seemingly unending battle against medical racism, and a system that criminalizes the poor and underinsured. But with support from her grandmother and mother, Terah navigates through a complex web of doctors and alternative medicine practitioners to emerge with unexpected hope.

SEIZE THE DAY encapsulates the journey of three generations of Black women holding on to personal triumphs, fighting to maintain any success that fuels their support of one another. Terah’s inner grace and strength captivate audiences in this portrait of a woman seeking the support she deserves. Despite a multitude of setbacks, this is ultimately a story of perseverance, where being devastated is not an option.

IMPACT GOALS

A seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain and usually affects how a person appears or acts for a short time.

Many different things can occur during a seizure. Whatever the brain and body can do normally can also occur during a seizure.

In 2015, 1.2% of the total US population had active epilepsy. This is about 3.4 million people with epilepsy nationwide: 3 million adults and 470,000 children.

According to the National Brain Health Center for African-Americans, epilepsy is very common amongst African-Americans who account for nearly one-third of all who have been diagnosed as having epilepsy.

We are grateful to be working with Dr. Oliver Brooks, President of the National Medical Association, who is acting as advisor on this important film. This personal portrait and emotionally driven story brings attention to the inequities of health care for people of color. Our film’s subject is catapulted into a desperate search for answers in a failed health care system which drives many to seek medical answers on their own. By actively using social media, and aggressively presenting at venues relative to mental health services, we envision this film’s impact as an advocacy tool for agencies to better address the needs of marginalized groups. We also feel strongly that Terah’s story will empower others from marginalized groups to continue to seek out and demand the health care and support they deserve.

For more information please visit our website: www.seizethedayfilm.com

Your donation is tax deductible!!! Seize The Day is a fiscally sponsored project of Thriving Roots Initiative (TRI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions on behalf of Seize The Day are payable to (TRI) and are tax deductible.

"Racism is absolutely a health crisis." - Dr. April Thames

SEIZE THE DAY DOCUMENTARY FILM

By Thriving Roots Initiative

SEIZE THE DAY DOCUMENTARY FILM

Make a tax deductible donation & help us complete production on this film!