Epilepsy!!!!

    You have Epilepsy....
That is what I was told when I was 14 years old...Fun times! I started having seizure spells at a really young age. Staring spells are actually what they were.We had no idea at the time that I had epilepsy the doctors just thought it was ADD. So I was put on Ritalin. Then as I grew older and hit puberty I started feeling different. I knew it wasn't normal...how I felt. I didn't know what to make of it. The seizure spells I started having at the age of 12 were heaviness affecting my right side motor skills. Usually brought on by stress. For a year the spells disappeared and came back full swing when I was 14. I had a seizure down at my bus stop. As if a seizure wasn't already embarrassing enough..... a bus full of kids saw as well. For about a week I was out of school and came back to humiliation and taunting about what happened to me. YEAH LIKE I COULD CONTROL IT!!! Took a full year for the taunts to die down. I moved out of state which gave me a chance to start fresh. To go where no one knew I had epilepsy. As I grew older though and matured I started talking about it. I am not embarrassed anymore!!! Although I did hide it from my hubby when we first met because of fear of rejection. I finally told him one day to give him the chance to decide for himself if he wanted to pursue a relationship with me..... Well all I can say is "His Mama raised him right!" NO rejection, only complete understanding of my condition. We are happily married now going on 3 years.....
    Because I am a mature adult now and can see how the younger crowd acts and wonder if I looked that stupid when I was young..... I understand that as a young teen maturity hasn't kicked in yet. SO I forgave all those that taunted me a long time ago. Since then the Epilepsy Foundations across the globe have and are making kids and teens aware of Epilepsy and how it affects us. I could sing about Epilepsy..... That is how proud I am to tell people of my medical condition. Please teach your kids and teens that Epilepsy is not a laughing matter. There are many websites out there that can inform anyone interested all about it. And in most cities there are epilepsy awareness meetings and conferences. It is an awesome learning experience. I encourage all to look into it in your spare time.

-Brittany "Proud Epileptic"

Here are a few links just to get you started:

What is epilepsy?
http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=C_dxhAYNzT4zgDoLAsQKBnpGpAcW0iu8Blcv-wx2virkXCAAQASgCUPDwi5gHYMnO8IzkpPgXoAGT5aXmA8gBAaoEFk_QmENjccf0yuFqt2wuWfbXDZdon5O6BRMI7-njjcWKrwIVZTS2Ch2mcAbrygUA&ei=AYNzT6_lC-Xo2AWm4ZnYDg&sig=AOD64_1-KgN_bB5_Pk2Oy1KGyaV3nD9yLg&sqi=2&ved=0CAgQ0Qw&adurl=http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/aboutepilepsy/whatisepilepsy/index.cfm&rct=j&q=epilepsy

 Living with Epilepsy..
http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=CONK5WoNzT_vOE6K7sQLE2thvh-GovQK3s4HXFdHd300IABABKANQ16inkgVgyc7wjOSk-BegAfPlvusDyAEBqgQaT9DISn2PIc8q3-gOVPK4DM2tXcv7jXw8OTI&sig=AOD64_1kCqLRHN-d0IdmtdR6HB4kMBLcLQ&ved=0CAgQ0Qw&adurl=http://clickserve.dartsearch.net/link/click%3Flid%3D43000000347524942%26ds_s_kwgid%3D58000000007555528%26ds_e_adid%3D5710477007%26ds_e_matchtype%3Dsearch%26ds_url_v%3D2&rct=j&q=epilepsy+facts