When Penny Howard watched her little girl, Harper, collapse into yet another seizure, she felt the kind of helplessness that no parent should ever have to endure. Doctors told her there was nothing more they could do. Her daughter, only five years old at the time, was having up to 40,000 seizures a year — sometimes hundreds a day. “I was losing her right in front of me,” Penny said. “And nobody had answers.”
That’s when this determined Texas mom decided to take matters into her own hands. What happened next would not only change her daughter’s life — it would help spark a nationwide conversation about alternative treatments for childhood epilepsy.
Harper had been diagnosed with a rare and catastrophic form of epilepsy known as infantile spasms, a condition resistant to most conventional medications. “We tried everything,” Penny told CNN. “Steroids, anticonvulsants, diets, surgeries — nothing worked. My daughter was fading, and I was told to start thinking about end-of-life care.”
“This mom refused to accept her daughter’s fate — and found a treatment when doctors couldn’t.” @CNN
That night, Penny stayed awake scrolling through medical forums and desperate parent groups. One post, from another mother in Colorado, mentioned a child who had found relief through CBD oil, a compound derived from cannabis that was still controversial and largely inaccessible in her state at the time. “I was skeptical,” she said. “But at that point, skepticism was a luxury we couldn’t afford.”
Penny began researching relentlessly. She read studies, spoke to neurologists, and connected with families who had turned to alternative therapies. “It was like entering a secret underground world of parents just trying to save their kids,” she told NBC News. “I wasn’t trying to be a rebel. I just wanted my daughter back.”
In 2013, she made the bold decision to move from Texas to Colorado — one of the few states where medical cannabis was legal. There, she met researchers working on non-psychoactive CBD treatments for pediatric epilepsy. “It was terrifying,” Penny admitted. “I was uprooting our lives based on a hope.”
“After 40,000 seizures a year, Harper’s mom packed up her life and moved states for one last hope.” @guardian
The results were almost immediate. Within weeks of beginning CBD treatment, Harper’s seizures dropped from hundreds a day to just a handful. Within months, she was walking again, laughing, and saying her first full sentences in years. “It was like watching her come back to life,” Penny told The Washington Post. “I cried every single day — but for the first time, they were happy tears.”
Harper’s story soon gained national attention, inspiring other families to demand access to similar treatments. Advocates credit Penny’s advocacy for helping push through landmark legislation that eventually legalized FDA-approved CBD-based medications like Epidiolex in 2018. “What Penny did changed medicine,” said epilepsy specialist Dr. Samantha Liu. “She forced science to pay attention.”
Despite her success, Penny remains humble. “I’m not a doctor,” she said in a Today Show interview. “I’m just a mom who refused to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
“‘I’m just a mom who refused to take no for an answer.’ — Penny Howard on saving her daughter’s life.” @people
Her fight, however, wasn’t easy. For months, Penny faced criticism from doctors and even friends who warned her she was “experimenting” on her child. “I felt judged,” she said. “But judgment doesn’t matter when your child’s heart stops in your arms.”
She’s now working with advocacy organizations like Realm of Caring to help other families navigate the same journey. “We’re still learning every day,” Penny explained. “But what I know for sure is that hope is medicine, too.”
Harper, now 14, still has occasional seizures but lives a much more normal life. She goes to school, paints, and loves swimming. “She has bad days,” Penny said. “But she also dances now. And that’s something I thought I’d never see again.”
“Harper went from 40,000 seizures a year to dancing with her mom again. Miracles do happen.” @Reuters
Still, Penny says she worries about the families who can’t afford to move or access treatments like hers. “Not everyone can pack up and start over in another state,” she said. “We need laws that protect families who just want to give their kids a chance.”
Her story has become a rallying cry for medical freedom advocates and parents across the country. “It’s not about politics,” Penny said. “It’s about saving lives.”
As for Harper, her laughter now fills the home that was once silent except for the sound of seizures and monitors. Penny says she still wakes up some nights in a panic — but now, it’s to find her daughter peacefully sleeping. “I used to pray she’d make it to the morning,” she whispered. “Now I pray she keeps dreaming.”