As the first Mother’s Day approaches without Cameron Boyce, his mom has opened up about how painful it was to lose him.
“Mother’s Day is a cherished day for mothers across the nation. For others, it can be a day of reflection for those who have a challenging relationship with their children; or a day of regret for those who never had children; or it can be a day of sheer grief for those who have lost a child,” Libby Boyce told Good Morning America. “These past 10 months have been life-changing for me in a way that is beyond words. You can’t compare it to anything because it is a trauma that is dissimilar to anything in the world. It has created a gaping hole that is raw and gut-wrenching.”
As fans know, the Disney actor passed away suddenly after having a seizure in his sleep on July 6, 2019. The Descendants and Jessie alum was only 20 years old at the time of his death, and he suffered from a medical condition called epilepsy.
But Libby wants to use her son’s tragic passing as a way to raise awareness about his medical condition.
“I lost my son Cameron Boyce on July 6, 2019 at the age of 20 to something called Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), which is something I had never heard of prior to losing Cameron. SUDEP occurs when otherwise healthy individuals with epilepsy die during a seizure,” she continued. “There are hundreds of mothers who have lost a child to SUDEP, yet I had never heard of SUDEP even though Cameron was diagnosed with epilepsy at 17 years old. I intend to use my voice on behalf of these moms to bring a face to this tragic issue and to bring attention to epilepsy; the most common disease that we know the least about.”
After his passing, Libby and Cameron’s father, Victor Boyce, started a charity in his honor, called The Cameron Boyce Foundation.
“Kinship with other mothers who have lost a child to SUDEP has given me new meaning, which I bring to my work in the Cameron Boyce Foundation,” she concluded. “For this Mother’s Day, I want to pay tribute to all of the SUDEP mom warriors who live with this horrific burden. Together, we will fight for more awareness, better understanding of the various types of epilepsy and appropriate treatments to address each type and for a cure for epilepsy and SUDEP.”
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