Abby Adoian is a girl on a mission.

So are her two pals, Marisa Gould and Daphne Cardillo.

And they have one thing in common; they are all affected by epilepsy.

But these three young ladies want to do something about it. They want to raise awareness of the fact that 13,000 Rhode Islanders are affected by epilepsy, and they also want to raise funds to help families and continue research into this “neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures, caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain.”

A condition that cannot be cured, but it can be managed.

So, why not rappel down a 35-foot building in Boston to raise those needed funds?

That happened last Saturday at the Hyatt Regency Boston/Cambridge in what the Epilepsy Foundation New England (EFNE) said was a “thrilling once in a lifetime chance of rappelling in an exciting and completely safe environment.”

A little background on the three pals who are members of “Team Violet Storm.”

Daphne Cardillo (Team Captain) 19, hails from Warwick and is celebrating her 19th birthday and graduation from Toll Gate High School.

She is a member of the Toll Gate Unified Titans Basketball and Volleyball teams and the Toll Gate Drama Club.

Marisa Gould, from Cranston, is an Epilepsy Foundation New England Teen Speak-Up/Public Policy Institute participant and Hope two-time scholarship recipient. She is a CCRI student and talented artist and singer.

And, Abby Adoian, whom I have known for many years, is the team manager for the Toll Gate Unified Titans Basketball and Volleyball teams, and a member of the Toll Gate Chorus and Drama Club. She is an honors student and karate enthusiast.

Like most folks, I didn’t know a lot about epilepsy, so I thought that I would sit down with Abby to learn a little more about it, and the effect it has on thousands of families in our state.

I learned that the causes are many, and include genetic factors, brain injury, infections like meningitis and encephalitis, brain issues at birth and other diverse factors.

Remarkably, in 50 to 66% percent of the cases, the cause remains unknown. 

Abby, who lives in the Old Buttonwoods section of Warwick, had her first seizure when she was about 18 months old.

The daughter of Jed and Mary Adoian, Abby learned later in life that her dad was affected by the condition as well.

In her case, thankfully, she has had only three or four seizures in her whole life, the last being in 2023 while attending a Christmas play at the Providence Performing Arts Center.   

She was pretty sure that the cause was the flashing lights that were part of the performance.

Abby, who is always upbeat and full of energy (like her brothers William and Joseph), decided to get involved with the EFNE.

Asked what her motivation was, she said, “my best friend Daphne has it. I wanted to support her, so I started going to epilepsy events throughout New England. When I found out that I had it, I not only wanted to support Daphne, but to also support my dad and others.”

 So, she went to various events primarily in RI and Massachusetts for walks and camps, which provided her with an opportunity to “know more about them and to learn new life skills. I also met a lot of people through social media.”

She also joined her two pals in organizing a couple fundraisers at Papa’s Ice Cream on West Shore Road in Warwick, as each participant in the Boston event had to raise a minimum of $1,000.00.   

Though fundraising is not high on her list of fun things to do, “I struggle with this. I’m good at talking to people, but it’s difficult to ask people to donate because you know that sometimes you can get rejected.”

But that didn’t stop her from putting flyers on social media to hopefully receive some online donations.

I was curious about what this talented young 16-year-old would like to do after she graduated from Toll Gate, and as usual, Abby was not lost for words.

“I would like to do two years at CCRI for general courses. I’d like to see how I progress and maybe after that, URI”

She continued, “the career option that I am currently interested in is modeling or acting, so maybe another option is to go straight to acting school.”

Why acting?

“Growing up, my family said I have the capability to be an actress.  It’s kind of stuck with me.”

“I was afraid to take the leap at first and was hesitant to do it. Then I got into the Drama Club this year, and was worried about not remembering lines, but I performed in the play “The Alibi” and remembered all the lines. They said my acting was good and I got a lot of good feedback!”

“Now that I’ve done it, I have a lot more confidence.”

And modeling?

My grandma and people at school tell me I should, so why not look into it?”

But for right now, Abby is most interested in raising money and awareness for the Epilepsy Foundation New England through Team Violet Storm with her two friends Daphne and Marisa. They also inspired another young lady from Massachusetts, Kaylianna Downing, to join the team at the last minute.

“The money is all going to the Epilepsy Foundation so kids can go to camp, or for research to look more into what epilepsy is.”

And if it takes rappelling down a dozen stories of a Boston building to raise that awareness, Abby, Daphne and Marisa were all in.

If you want to pitch in to help with this most worthy initiative, you can donate by going to: https://efne.epilepsynewengland.org/team/658629. You can also mention the team member that you would like to direct the funds to.