ESPE Foundation profile and Norka Martinez collaboration

5. The ESPE Foundation is a social initiative of the Venezuelan artist Norka as a result of having been
diagnosed with epilepsy and faced difficult times in her life as a result of the conditions of the disease.
Norka, a young Venezuelan singer with an exceptional talent and who astounded major producers from
the artistic world, had a childhood filled of experiences; where art and music combined molded her to
make the artist she is. A young woman, whom with effort and dedication managed to position herself as
one of the new talents of Latin pop music.
However, her life took a 360 ° degree turn having to interrupt her artistic career as a result of the
epilepsy attacks, and take on a new challenge alongside her family... finding a treatment that would
help her battle the disease and return to the stage.
The artist begins her battle with epilepsy during her youth while studying abroad in Europe and it is not
until the end of 2015 due to subsequent seizures, that she is surgically intervened at the Cleveland
Clinic in Ohio, United States.
Norka had a first diagnostic phase in which a surgical procedure was done where 13 electrodes were
placed in her brain with the purpose of monitoring brain activity and locate the specific area where the
seizures originated. Once extracted and the area detected, a last surgical intervention was done for her
cure.
Norka explains, "The hardest stage from this process is seeing how my life changed completely". For
Norka her biggest lesson was realizing that epilepsy is not an abnormality and it is important to inform
people about the disease.
During recovery time Norka dedicated her time to exchanging experiences of patients with epilepsy on
social media, an activity that has led her to officially create the ESPE Foundation, which seeks to
provide and facilitate not only information but also financial support to individuals and families who
suffer from this condition and do not have resources for treatment.