Greg Grunberg says he’s lucky to have son

Heroes actor Greg Grunberg recently told People that he is continually amazed by the determination of his 12-year-old son Jake, who has epilepsy, to lead a normal life despite the disorder.  As Jake has entered puberty his incidence of seizures is on the rise — currently experiencing one to two a week — but Greg said his son is nonetheless "doing well."  At no time was this more evident than before a recent talent show, when Jake suffered a seizure immediately before he was scheduled to take the stage.  While Greg said that had it happened to him he would have gone home to "bury my head in the sand," Jake had other ideas.

I was like, Jake, don’t worry about [the show], it’s not a big deal. But he had this steel look in his eyes and said, ‘I’m doing it.’ He doesn’t let anything stand in his way. I’m so lucky to be his dad.

Greg, 41, went on to say that Jake "doesn’t let anything stop him, and to deal with everything with your head up high, that to me is a true hero."  One of the reasons Jake is no doubt able to handle the disorder with such grace is the dedication of his family, which includes mom Elizabeth and younger brothers Ben, 8, and Sam, 4.  Greg said that they approach Jake’s epilepsy as a team.

In our house we say we all have epilepsy.  We’re all watching out for him. We’re all going through this together.

Source:  People; Photo by John Harrington/National Epilepsy Foundation

Thanks to CBB readers Kate, Sarah and Maya.