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Get Informed“In 1993 when our eleven month old son Charlie had his first seizures and my then friend and attorney learned of our fear and agony, he never said a word. That wouldn’t be so remarkable were it not for the fact that he, too, had a son with a seizure disorder. You see, he was embarrassed. He didn’t want the stigma. It wasn’t worth it to him to ‘out’ his son in order to pass on information and comfort. He was merely proliferating a tradition of silence and misinformation that was centuries old. Today, thanks to organizations like The American Epilepsy Outreach Foundation, parent-organized groups around the world are creating a revolution. It is hard to find a support group or a research project or an information center that isn’t parent initiated. Instead of cowering, the hurt fostered from watching the suffering of our children is being channeled into help for others. We still have a long way to go. It is estimated that between two and three million Americans suffer from epilepsy and there are 50,000 epilepsy related deaths annually. So I would like to thank The American Epilepsy Outreach Foundation, and Emmett Leyden and his family for all the good they are doing today and for all those who will benefit from their work in the future.” Jim Abrahams
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WebMD reported on a recent study showing that depression is common in people with epilepsy, affecting 36% of epilepsy patients. |