Short Hair Diva

November is nearing its end, which means that my good intentions of promoting Epilepsy Awareness month on a weekly basis didn’t happen. That’s why I decided to post this little spiel today.

Epilepsy is a neurological condition characterized by seizures. Seizures occur when the brain’s electrical balance is interrupted by overactive electrical discharges.  Seizures can occur after brain damage or injury, or for unknown reasons. If someone has two or more unprovoked seizures, they’re usually diagnosed with epilepsy. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, it affects roughly 3 million Americans and 50 million people around the world. It’s not contagious.

Living with Epilepsy

Epilepsy can be controlled by medication and surgery, but it has no cure. Epilepsy affects your life–and your caregivers’ lives–in ways you can’t even imagine. I have been seizure-free for nearly four years, but my monthly medication costs with the insurance discount are more than some people’s monthly car payments.

Learn About Epilepsy

I completely understand that it would be impossible to support every single charity or cause in the world (hey, I’ll admit that I change the channel when those sad pet abuse commercials come on) but I find it irritating that so many people could not care less about epilepsy. Many people don’t even know what it is, or they assume it’s some form of retardation. My friends and family have been wonderful and most of them made generous donations when I participated in the National Walk for Epilepsy in 2009 and again in 2010.

Greg Grunberg Talks About It!

I urge you all to visit TalkAboutIt.org, a website founded by Greg Grunberg of Felicity, Alias, and Heroes fame. It is a site where you can learn about epilepsy in a fun environment and hear from Greg and other celebrities.

Just shy of two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to take part in a blogger summit sponsored by Epilepsy Advocate and UCB. Epilepsy Advocate is a community of people that are living well with epilepsy. The group’s goal is to promote epilepsy awareness and help people understand that even though it definitely places some major roadblocks, it is possible to have a happy, healthy life while dealing with this neurological condition. UCB is a global pharmaceutical manufacturer known as The Epilepsy Company.

During the summit, I had the awesome opportunity to interact with other bloggers that are living with epilepsy, as well as several experts in the field, via phone and webcam. I was so impressed to “meet” the other bloggers,  including:

Mandy of My Life as Mandy… with Epilepsy

Jessica of Living Well with Epilepsy

Bryan of More Than Kids

Robert of Connecticut Epilepsy Advocate

Tiffany of The Epilepsy Network

Erica of Living in a Brainstorm

Friends and family–even doctors–can be sympathetic, but it’s somewhat refreshing to speak with people that understand exactly what it feels like to have epilepsy. People that know how scary it is to realize that you could have a seizure at any instant; people that understand just how frustrating it is to explain to others what is “wrong” with you; people that get just as frustrated about stigmas associated with epilepsy My anti-epileptic prescription is not cheap, to put it mildly, but I have been seizure-free for nearly four years and I’m thankful every single day.

Thanks again to Epilepsy Advocate and USB!

Epilepsy Advocate