the truth about epilepsy

Epilepsy kills. It kills our children, our parents, our grandparents and our siblings. It is not a benign disorder where you take a pill and everything is okay. It's just not.

Epilepsy affects over 3 million Americans of all ages, 300,000 of whom are children under fifteen.
Epilepsy affects more people than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson’s disease combined.

About 200,000 new cases of seizures and epilepsy occur each year and it is estimated that up to 50,000 people will die each year from epilepsy or seizure related causes. These numbers are nearly identical to breast cancer and yet epilepsy is still an obscure disorder to most people. Epilepsy is stigmatized, misunderstood, feared, overlooked and therefore grossly under-funded.

Those who have epilepsy and are lucky enough to have their seizures controlled by medication suffer drug side effects which can be debilitating in and of themselves; dizziness, poor coordination, visual disturbances, trouble with balance, insomnia, drowsiness, confusion, abnormal thinking, fatigue and depression to name just a fraction.

Those who don't benefit from medication risk brain damage, mental retardation, hospitalizations, exorbitant medical bills and sudden death.

Please share Calvin's story and choose to dispel the myths of epilepsy. Advocate on behalf of all of the children and adults who suffer needlessly and become a champion of epilepsy awareness. Decide to make a difference, it's not hard, just do it one story at a time.