Miguel Cervantes is an actor, singer, and performer known for his work on both the stage and screen. A year and a half ago, he had an audition for the role of a lifetime—playing Alexander Hamilton in the Chicago production of HAMILTON, the hottest musical of our time. Yet during the audition process, in front of the producers and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, Miguel received news that would totally upend his world. His daughter Adelaide had been diagnosed with epilepsy, shortly to be confirmed as a severe, incurable form known as Infantile Spasms (IS). For Miguel and Kelly, that fateful day was life-changing. Miguel won the role of his dreams, but he and Kelly began a heart-rending journey that no parent ever should face. As they were moving to Chicago and Miguel was preparing to portray Alexander Hamilton, the Cervantes family was also learning about epilepsy, a medical condition that is still underestimated, underfunded, and—for far too many Americans—entirely misunderstood.

During this journey, Miguel and Kelly have devoted themselves to raising funds and awareness for epilepsy research. One day soon, breakthroughs in epilepsy research may be able to help the over 1 million Americans who—like Adelaide—are unresponsive to current treatments. But this will only be possible with your support. Please join us to make a difference, to assist the millions of families like the Cervantes, and to help fund a cure.

CURE is joining forces with the Epilepsy Foundation for the #MyShotAtEpilepsy Challenge to promote awareness and raise funds for epilepsy research that will lead to a cure. All proceeds from the campaign will be split between both organizations and used to advance breakthroughs in epilepsy treatments and research. The initial proceeds will be used to support the genetic testing of hundreds of individuals from the Rare Epilepsy Network and their subsequent enrollment into the Epilepsy Genetics Initiative for recurrent analysis. These are individuals who suffer from severe epilepsies with an unknown genetic cause.