Thursday, November 13, 2014

Nov is Epilepsy Awareness Month

November is Epilepsy Awareness Month.  The ribbon color for epilepsy is purple.  Epilepsy affects 3 million Americans and 65 million people worldwide. One third of people diagnosed with Epilepsy will be deemed intractable, meaning that they take multiple medications without success and there is no way for their seizures to be helped with medication.  It often forces a patient to take more and more medications for only a fraction of control. (At my worst time, I was on a maximum dosage of 5 medications.) Only a small margin of intractable epileptics will qualify for the current surgeries available, about 30%. I was one of the lucky ones.   Though epilepsy affects more people than  multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and Parkinson's combined it has least amount of funding for studies in the advancement of finding treatments and a cure.

Should you see someone around you have a seizure: Do not ever put anything in their mouth. Remove anything dangerous from their hand (like a fork or knife). Move tables or chairs to prevent them from hitting their head, if possible place something soft under their head.  Do not be alarmed if they are not responding to you immediately, during a seizure most will not.  Rarely is an ambulance needed, however if the seizure goes beyond 5 minutes; if the person has continual short seizures without coming conscious in between, or if the person bangs their head or physically injures their body.  It may take several minutes after a seizure for the person to become truly aware.  Staying nearby and talking to them to ensure they are conscious is good. 

For all those of you who have epilepsy or know someone with epilepsy, never give up!  I had intractable seizures for the first 39 years of my life. I met the right doctor and less than 5 months later I had my last seizure.  I have currently been seizure free for 4 and a half years.  I am down to low medication levels.  There's always hope!  I am seeing new technology, new treatments and surgeries come.  Don't be afraid.  Drop me a message if you need to talk. htondre@aol.com

This card is using an awesome stamp from the Stamping Chef. This woman is the fighter I want to be! I colored her up in purple for Epilepsy Awareness this month using gorgeous papers from Paper Temptress.

11 comments:

Ustvarjalni utrinki Tamara P. said...

Fabulous card
hugs Tamara

Linda Simpson said...

Gorgeous, love the image and the corners.
Hugs
Linda xxx

KarinsArtScrap said...

fab and very beautiful card Holley
Gr Karin

Melody Strahan said...

I love this image! Congrats Holley! You're a winner. I was married to a man who is epileptic. It isn't a fun merry-go-round. He had been on high dosages of narcotics for many years without any real control of the seizures. He saw a new doctor and got better meds though, and is now much better controlled. :)

Bless your sweet awareness raising heart!

Kate M said...

Super card, love that image and the colours, love the corners too.
xx

Anonymous said...

A powerful card Holley.
Thank you for the information.
There was a child in one of the classes I worked in and she had an injection for some reason or other and as a result of that she is now epileptic. ...

kaye G
xx

ShersL84bed said...

I love that you still make these posts Holley. I wish more people knew about Epilepsy and understood it.

your card is perfect for the occasion. You are a champion!

Vannessa said...

Great card and fabulous colouring. Glad to hear that your epilepsy is now under control. Thank goodness for good doctors! Thank you for joining in our challenge at The Stamping Chef this time.

Hugs, Vannessa
The Stamping Chef DT

Unknown said...

Beatuful work Holly xx Thank you for joining us at http://thestampingchef.com/Challenges/
Sandie (The Stamping Chef DT)
http://fairytaledaydream.blogspot.com/

stampingwithpeggie.blogspot.com said...

What an incredibly story and card!

Cibele Glazer said...

What a great way to bring awareness to Epilepsy. I love all the information you provided and I hope everyone who stopped by read your post after looking at your gorgeous card. You did an awesome job with the image and made her into a fab symbol for this cause. Great Job!! Thanks for joining us at The Stamping Chef this week!