PHOENIX — Keten Crawford is just starting his young life, but at 22, he's faced some challenges. He was diagnosed with epilepsy, a disease that could have derailed his life, had he let himself become a victim of his diagnosis.
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder, the hallmark of which is recurrent, unprovoked seizures.
A few years ago, Crawford left a job at a fast-food restaurant to start hosting at Lo-Lo's Chicken & Waffles.
Not knowing what the future had in store for him he found that he really liked the environment, and soon moved into serving.
During the pandemic, as a server at a restaurant, the past few years haven't been easy. Adding to that was managing a serious health issue, that left unattended could have severely put Crawford's future at risk.
Instead of reducing the amount of stress by a career change, Crawford stepped up to the plate, and instead implemented some techniques to help him calm down and maintain a peaceful state of mind.
Seeing the massive potential for growth Crawford was already demonstrating, his manager Antjuan quickly moved him up to a hybrid Server/Manager position.
"I've never seen anyone get along with people as well as Keten," said Jones. "It's very easy to talk about him because he's an amazing guy."
His co-worker Eric said, "He's just helpful. He's one of those people who's a team player, If he sees you struggling, he's gonna try to help. He's just taken to each challenge in stride."
While interviewing about his experience at the restaurant, Carlos Aguirre, General Manager at Ken Garff Kia, snuck in behind him and surprised him with a $2.000 tip as the Server of the Week. Clapping and cheering immediately broke out around him.
Even after all that, Crawford was still thinking about his job, "I hope my tables are okay," he mumbled amid the applause.
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