PHILADELPHIA – Meet 11-year-old Peyton Bennett, full of wonder, promise and – after the last six months – courage.

Peyton was first diagnosed with epilepsy in February.

Her mother, Courtney Bennett, wasn’t too concerned at first. “It wasn’t a concern for me as a mother because my 15-year-old son has epilepsy, so it’s something I’ve heard before,” she said.

However, after a series of seizure scares, Peyton’s mothers took her to CHOP. “They immediately ran a series of tests and said they knew she definitely had epilepsy, and we just assumed we would get medication to treat that problem,” Peyton’s mother said.

But what happened next changed her life.

“Just when we thought we were going to be discharged, they asked us to help her get up, but she couldn’t walk. Her legs were stiff,” she said.

The doctors knew something else was going on, and after another round of tests, the neurologist on duty told them news that no parent could have expected.

Peyton was diagnosed with a functional neurological disorder.

“The acronym for that is FND. Basically, it means that part of her brain is blocking the part that tells her body to go,” Peyton’s mother explained.

Peyton’s world quickly became anything but normal and she was admitted to CHOP’s inpatient rehab facility for about a month.

“We thought she had made great progress because she had managed to get back to normal. In March we were able to go home and were absolutely thrilled,” she said.

But in June, Peyton relapsed and had four seizures in one day. Her doctors suggested outpatient treatment, but the waiting list was particularly long.

“She uses these things, a harness and a walker, to help herself because she is not stable without help nearby,” her mother explained.

And unfortunately, Peyton’s insurance is now making life more difficult because the intensive daily therapies she needs are not all covered.

“We are currently faced with the question of whether she can drive to and from therapy because our insurance says we have already exhausted the round-trip transportation costs,” Peyton’s mother explained. “As parents, we now have to decide: Do I pay a bill at home or do I take my child to a place where she needs to go to get back to normal?”

You make decisions that no parent ever wants to make and you get denied by the insurance company and have to appeal. These processes can take weeks.

However, Peyton needs help now.

“It’s hard. What do you do when you gave birth to a perfectly healthy child one day and now we have to overcome so many hurdles that she should be entitled to?” complained Peyton’s mother.

To support Peyton and her family during this difficult time, you can donate through GoFundMe.