epilepsy awareness

November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month!

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Epilepsy isn’t biased. It doesn’t care about who you are or where you’re from. It can affect anyone with a brain.

1 in 10 people will have at least one seizure in their lifetime, and 1 in 26 will develop epilepsy.

As one of those 1 in 26, I ask for your help to spread awareness about this neurological disorder. Be part of #StaySafeSide, a nationwide effort highlighting the importance of recognizing a seizure and promoting seizure first aid.

Seizure first aid isn’t brain surgery. It’s as simple as – Stay, Safe, Side.

See the Epilepsy Foundation’s Seizure First Aid poster below to learn how to be seizure smart.

(Click on the image to download a copy.)

Dare to be seizure smart! Educate others about seizure preparedness and encourage others to take action. Together we can make a difference!

 

To my Game of Temporal Lobe Fam

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Epilepsy is much like the weather. It’s unpredictable and always changing. A sunny, 85 degree morning can quickly turn into a 58 degree with scattered thunderstorms afternoon.

With epilepsy, you can never predict what will happen next. You prepare for a picnic. Lightning strikes, and you have to watch the latest documentary on Netflix.

The weather is very unfavorable when we really don’t need it to. But through sunshine and rain, each of you have been right beside me.

Whether you were there at the beginning or met me along the way, I want to thank you for supporting me.

Thanks for putting up with my nonsense. Thanks for listening to my randomness and laughing, even when my jokes weren’t funny.

You gals and guys are the best! It’s because of you that my Walk to END Epilepsy this past weekend was such a success.

From the bottom of my purple heart, thank you, my ever-growing epilepsy fam!

 

 

Let’s Walk to END EPILEPSY!

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I’m participating in the Walk to END EPILEPSY, and I want to invite you to support me in helping raise funds for the Epilepsy Foundation of Texas.

As a person living with epilepsy, this is a cause that is close to my heart.

Epilepsy is the third most common neurological condition, and it affects more than three million people in the US alone.

There is a lot of stigma surrounding this disorder. By increasing awareness, we can spread important and accurate information about epilepsy. We can educate others about seizure first aid and end the stigma surrounding epilepsy.

The Epilepsy Foundation provides many needed services to the over 15,000 people living with epilepsy and seizure disorders in north and east Texas.

Join me in helping raise funds for an important organization that creates life changing opportunities for people living with seizure disorders.

Please consider making a donation on my fundraising page at the link below. No donation is too big or small.

Walk to END EPILEPSY

If you are around the area and would like to take a walk with me,  join my team Game of Temporal Lobe.

The Epilepsy Foundation Texas – Houston/Dallas/Fort Worth is a recognized 501c3 non-profit organization and all donations are completely tax deductible.

Thanks!
Vero

International Epilepsy Day

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Just in case the title didn’t give it away, today is International Epilepsy Day!

What is International Epilepsy Day you might ask?

In 2015, the International Bureau for Epilepsy and the International League Against Epilepsy came together to provide a platform for people living with epilepsy to share their stories around the world. Now, the second Monday in February is designated to do just that.

Today, 120 countries advocate to spread awareness about this neurological disorder and fight to get legislative rights for people living with epilepsy. The goal is to educate, eliminate the public fear and stigma that comes with this disorder and encourage those living with epilepsy to live their life to the fullest.

Join the Epilepsy Community by helping us get #EpilepsyDay to trend on social media. Make Epilepsy Day successful so we can get better care, improved treatments and greater funds for much needed medical research.

Don’t know where to start? You can visit the International Epilepsy Day website to get some ideas.

Will you join me?

 

Monday Reflections: One in twenty-six

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Twenty-six people living ordinary lives.
Some learning to walk for the very first time.
Others with wrinkles around their eyes.
All filled with dreams waiting to be realized.

Then, one of those twenty-six is caught off guard.
Their greens turned red. Their ups turned upside down.
Their life taken away by a silent, electrical terrorist.

One in twenty-six people will hear three life changing words.

You have epilepsy.

I’m the one in 26.

I will always be tired.
I will always have a foggy memory.
I will always be a tiny bit moody.
I will always wonder why.

But I will never give up.
I will fight for the next one in twenty-six.
I will be there to offer a helping hand.

 

Living with epilepsy isn’t easy, but it hasn’t been all bad. I’ve learned how strong I can truly be, and how I can make a difference. This past month, I was able to offer some advice to a girl who had just been diagnosed. Being able to help her make sense of everything and guide her through this difficult time has made every painful moment worthwhile. If I had decided not to get back up all those times I thought I couldn’t, I wouldn’t be able to offer her solace today. Sticking it out is difficult, but never impossible. Today I reflect on that. 

November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month: Ready to spread awareness?

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purple ribbon

We’re a third of the way into the month so this post comes a little late, but late is better than never. November is National Epilepsy Awareness month, and this is our chance to share our story and educate others about seizures.

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In the winter of 2009, I awoke to confusion as paremedics held an oxygen mask to my mouth. My vision was blurred, and I could barely make out the faces of the people standing around me. Unable to see clearly and hearing unfamiliar voices, I panicked. I attempted to push and pull away, but my body would not obey. If I had the strength, I would have given those paramedics a good fight, but the seizure had left me completely fatigued. Instead, I demanded explanations and screamed why. And that is how my epilepsy journey began.

Almost a decade later, I’ve faced epilepsy in several forms. I faced weekly complex partial seizures that took the energy out of me and made me lose sense of time. I had brain surgery to try and remove the seizure focus. For three years, I was seizure free and regained the independence I’d lost. In 2016, the convulsive seizures began. After several attempts, I got my seizures under control. Today, I’ve finally gone eight months seizure free once again! This journey has been a long one, and it’s far from over, but I’m okay. I’ve survived and become so much stronger along the way. And this is thanks to all those people living with epilepsy who have shared their story with me. My hat goes off to them!

Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder. If a person has two or more unprovoked seizures that have occurred without having a known or reversible medical condition, they are diagnosed with epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a spectrum of seizure disorders that varies from person-to-person. Brain injuries and other medical conditions can be a cause for epilepsy, but most people never learn the underlying cause for their seizures.

Even if you don’t have or know anyone who has seizures, it’s important to get educated. Will you help me educate others?

It’s National Epilepsy Awareness Month. Let’s LEARN! 

 

 

2018 Stroll for Epilepsy here we come!

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With trying to get my seizures under control and adjusting to my new meds, unfortunately, I won’t be making it to the National Walk for Epilepsy in Washington this year.

However, this doesn’t mean I can’t walk here in Texas!

If you’re in the area and would like to walk for a good cause, please join me in strolling at the 2018 Stroll for Epilepsy in Dallas, Texas.

My team, Game of Temporal Lobe, will be raising awareness and funds for the Epilepsy Foundation of Texas, and we’d love for you to be part of our team!

 

Friends, let me introduce you to my annoying neighbor “E”

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Faces smiling and eyes half rolling at my quirky, silly manners
stare back at me with a hint of sadness and worried expression.

The laughter and “you’re so funny” occurrences have forever vanished.
Their ending brought on by my most recent tonic-clonic seizure.

After much-needed rest, I went back in with my usual witty self,
but the frightful scene from the day before had already left damage.

They’ve seen the monster within, and I don’t blame them for their caution.
But I promise, I’m feeling better today, and this monster will never win!

After dealing with this disorder for almost a decade, you forget how frightful it can be, not just for yourself, but for those looking in and trying their best to help. For those old friends that have stuck through it and for the new ones I’ve made along the way, thanks for everything you do! I’m sorry I scared you, but, really, I am fine.

This past year has been a relearning of my epilepsy in its new form. It has been difficult. Trust me. I got a lot of bruises and cuts to prove it! It was tough, but I survived because of all of you. Come on, put that sad face aside, I’m still smiling and so should you!