Mark Martin is an Adult & Parent living with TSC. He also is the Adult Regional Coordinator of 6 States for the TS Alliance, & was a past Volunteer of the Year. He started a Facebook group for TSC Dads, has worked as an ER Tech, and is an accomplished musician. There is never a dull moment for Mark! He's a true influencer across the community as his perspective as Adult with TSC AND having a son w/TSC gives him a broad perspective and further fires his passion for connecting as many people as possible with resources, information & friendship in the TSC grassroots community. In this episode, Mark shares his lived experience with TSC from the early days when he did not have a diagnosis, and family members thought he was "making seizures up for attention". His overwhelming desperation led him to attempt to take his own life. Mark's resilience is incredible and despite many challenges to his mental and physical health over the years, he remains steadfastly committed to the TSC community, his family, his children, and wife. He was not officially diagnosed with TSC until he was hospitalized for a blood clot in his lungs and everything he'd been through in his past started to make sense. From that moment, purpose defined, Mark committed himself to raise awareness of this condition and got involved with the TS Alliance. He discusses much of his experience over the years working in particular with the adult TSC community as an adult regional coordinator of 6 states, attending conferences, speaking at local colleges, becoming a TS Clinic Ambassador and more. He's been a ER Tech, group home manager, started a Facebook group for Dads with TSC and still holds regular Adult Topic phone calls and meetings with people across the country. He also shares how his love for singing and songwriting has been a refuge along with spending precious time with his wife, son, and daughter. He shares some glimpses of his interactions with influencing doctors and other professionals, traveling across the country to attend conferences to network and further awareness and connection and is in the midst of writing a book about his vast experiences over the years and how his strong faith has pulled him through. In Mark's words, "take the high road, just try to keep things in perspective. ask God for discernment, and maybe an extra date night for yourself or with your spouse but it can be done if you choose to drop the selfishness and sometimes that's a tough gig"