The Next Bold Move – Me Vs. The World

Dear Friends and Family,

My nephew, Teed Finch, has suffered from Epilepsy since he was a little boy.  Teed wasn’t able to go to fireworks on the Fourth of July, play certain video games or participate in other normal kid activities because the constant fear that it could cause a seizure.  A few years ago Teed had two surgeries to remove a small piece of brain tissue in order to hopefully stop or at least prevent seizures from occurring so often.  The surgery was successful.  Teed has been seizure free since April 2007.  However, he is not cured.  He still takes daily medications with a variety of side effects and cannot participate in various activities that have caused seizures in the past.

Prior to leaving for the Marine Corps I worked at a shelter for handicapped children.  Some of these children also suffered from epilepsy.  People living with epilepsy live seemingly normal lives, but what you and I don’t see is their constant fear that a siren or light might be the right combination to cause a seizure.  We don’t go through life afraid of taking a shower in an empty house, going to an amusement park, school, the grocery store, even driving because any moment we could have a grand or petit mal seizure.  This condition is not terminal, but it is a condition over 3 million Americans have to live with.

So, why am I telling you this?  Because when we see a light pink product we buy it because we know a certain amount of proceeds goes to breast cancer research.  At marathons and triathalons anyone in a purple shirt is raising money for Team in Training for cancer research.  The Nike’s women’s marathon in San Francisco expects to raise over 40 million dollars in 4 years for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  While these are great events to promote awareness and raise money for research, there is little awareness and support for research when it comes to epilepsy.  On top of volunteer fundraisers the government spends $30 billion on medical research at the National Institutes of Health, but only ½ of 1% is spent on epilepsy research.

I’m not asking for a donation.  I’m not asking for your spare change at the grocery store.  I’m asking that you take a few minutes of your day to read the email below from the Epilepsy Foundation and go to the link.  It will take you to their site where you can send a prewritten email to your state representatives.  We elected these men and women to represent us and our needs.  Maybe you don’t know a child or loved one who has suffered from seizures.  You have never held a terrified seven year old in your arms who knows he is about to have a seizure because his legs went numb and there is nothing you can do for him except hold him.  This is not a reason to ignore the problem.  Ten percent of the American population will experience a seizure in their lifetime and Approximately 200,000 new cases of seizures and epilepsy occur each year.  This problem is not going away on it’s own and while we race for a cure to cancer and AIDS, can’t we race to a cure to epilepsy as well?  Please, it only takes a few minutes of your day to send an email asking a larger portion of the money already set aside for research to go towards finding better treatments or even a cure for epilepsy.  Take action and then forward this email on to make a difference in the lives of those who suffer from epilepsy!  Thank you for your time.

Link to  Online Action Center

Semper Fi,

Lisbeth Prifogle
— On Mon, 11/23/09, Epilepsy Foundation <jlamountain@efa.org> wrote:

From: Epilepsy Foundation <jlamountain@efa.org>
Subject: 1,439 Emails to Congress…Have You Taken Action Yet?
To: lisbeth_prifogle@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, November 23, 2009, 11:50 AM

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