Epilepsy research contest!
The best article written wins a nice set of cigars from Scott and me! Trust me when I say: You will be very well rewarded!!

If you have any form of Epilepsy, please do not participate in this contest!
The contest will be open until March 7th 2012, midnight EST. Please read on carefully!


LIVING WITH EPILEPSY
Epilepsy has been shrouded in stigma for thousands of years. However, recent media coverage in the New York Times and Newsweek has helped bring to light the staggering number of people affected by the disorder. You might be surprised to learn just how many friends, neighbors and colleagues are living with epilepsy.


50 MILLION WORLDWIDE
Epilepsy and seizures affect three million Americans of all ages. That is more than the entire population of a city the size of Philadelphia, and double the number of people known to be affected by autism. To take an even broader look, epilepsy affects 50 million people worldwide. That's more people than were living with HIV/AIDS in 2008, according to UNAIDS.

EVERY TWO MINUTES
Every two minutes a new case of epilepsy is diagnosed. Other two-minute facts that you may be familiar with include: how often a woman is sexually assaulted or a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer.

THIRD MOST COMMON
Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in the US, after Alzheimer's and stroke, according to the Epilepsy Foundation of America. Is it really any surprise that you probably know someone with epilepsy, considering these numbers?

ON PAR WITH BREAST CANCER
The Epilepsy Foundation shows there are approximately 200,000 new cases of epilepsy and seizures diagnosed each year. According to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the same number of breast cancer cases are diagnosed. Additionally, 40,000 people will die as a result of seizures, which is the same number of people that will die as a result of breast cancer.

SEVENTY PERCENT CONJECTURE
There are more than 40 different types of seizures and not all of them involve convulsions. And in 70 percent of the cases diagnosed, no known cause is found. Yep, you read that right: 70 percent.

STARTLING MORTALITY RATE
The mortality rate is two to three times higher among people with epilepsy and the risk of sudden death (brace yourself) is 24 times greater. Yet according to the American Epilepsy Society, "it is very uncommon but not unheard of for people to die with a seizure."

MYTHS AND STIGMA LIVE ON
Sadly, myths about epilepsy have not been completely dispelled, but it is time for a change, especially considering the huge number of people affected. Epilepsy is not contagious and you cannot swallow your tongue during a seizure. So just a friendly reminder: Next time you come upon someone having a seizure please don't stick your dirty old wallet in the person's mouth to keep them from swallowing their tongue. Ick.
(Source: http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-w...by-the-numbers)



I'd like you to meet my son Drake:

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I know, I should have called a CUTE ALERT first. :-)

He was doing what all other little babies do.


But...


















Then this happened:
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A few days later this happened:
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We got THIS close to losing him twice that week.
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3 weeks later:
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After almost a month of being in a coma, my son decided that there was still lots of ASS KICKING to do on this planet, and he opened his little eyes to tell daddy that he's ready for some more lessons:
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The day we got home. Ready to come and kick some ass in a town near you!
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Drake has Dravet Syndrome which is the most severe and fatal form of Epilepsy. He will never outgrow this. There is no cure. He will be plagued by seizures and poor developmental outcome for the rest of his life. His life expectancy is .. well let's just say I treat each one of his days as if it was his last. That's right, Drake and I kick ass every day.

So you might ask, why am I posting these pictures? A bad event happened in life and we moved on; what's the big deal, right? I got news for you: This is our routine. Hospital stays, worrying, fighting for his life is an every day thing for us. As a matter of fact, it's a routine for all people with Dravet Syndrome, and almost all of the ones with Epilepsy.

It's life threatening.


What is this contest REALLY all about?

It's not about you feeling sorry for me, my son or people that have Epilepsy. We don't need your pity, we're WARRIORS. We kick ass on a daily basis! We once had to take a day off from ass kicking but the following day we kicked ass twice as much to make up for it!

It's only to spread awareness. Most people have no idea what Epilepsy is. I want that to change. In order to do that, you need to educate yourself.

Use what I wrote above, use google, use books, use the link in my signature; whatever it takes and write an article or something like a letter that your parents or friends would understand, without the medical terms nonsense in it. It should be structured, easy to read and understand. It should be formulated in such a way that even the most ignorant person will say "Wow.. I had no idea!".

Here are some pointers for the structure:

-What is Dravet Syndrome?
-Describe a typical day and night of an Epileptic and their loved ones
-Is there a cure?
-How is it treated?
-How well is the research funded?
-Severity/life expectancy?
-Social impact
-Myths and facts


Scott and I will judge each submission and come up with a winner. As previously stated, PLEASE, if you have any form of Epilepsy, do not participate in this contest.


If you have any questions, hit up Scott (sevans105) or myself (fencefixer)!

Also.. if you're not participating in this contest, we surely could use your help to reward the winner(s) as well.

Let's get this started boys and girls, let's nuke this sucker straight from orbit!!!
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It really is a bad thing to go through. One of my little brothers has epilepsy and I have expierenced some very scary **** growing up with him. The attacks are very scary and they make you realize how precious life really is. He will be on meds his whole life, has to carry a special pen, can't participate in physical sports...........

My 4 year old son, he was also plagued with seizures when he was a newborn. Lots of hospital stays and bills and meds. He fortunatly has outgrown his...........Knock on wood.

Epilepsy really is a scary thing due to the fact that there really is very little known about this stuff........
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Looks like we have another dad who kicks ass among us, hi smitty!

Thread approaching 100 views and no interest so far. :-)
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I will do it fence, For my son, My brother, your son and everyone else that is lost in the storm........

When does it have to be done?

(don't expect great anything to good, my writing skillls are not the best)
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I'm gonna go out on a limb here and take a wild guess.

March 7th??
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I scanned over it last night, Didn't look over it again until just now.

Sorry to burden you with my hard question........I'm at work.
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Poor guy.
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Lighten up, Francis. It was a joke.

fwiw-I'm at work, too.
Posted via Mobile Device
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Lighten up you 2, going to fire the orbital friendship cannon, DC sends love, :-)! :-)
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Gotcha Boss. :-)
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Just emailed mine.
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1 submission so far.

Come on folks, it's really simple. Write something like an article or a letter like you would to your friends, touching base with the facts mentioned above, in an easy to understand manner.
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Give me a day or two and I will be in!!!

This is a great way to make people aware of what a person might face living with epilepsy or what his or her loved ones go through.

I will submit mine in a day or two :-)
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Thank you and take your time, you got until March 7. :-)
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Haven't used my writing skills in a while but I'll give it a go!
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I would love to participate but I have a Seizure dissorder so no go for me. Mine is not that bad and I have only had a few in the past year but they do suck for sure and many people do not have the skills or understanding to deal with someone having a seizure in front of them.

Great Idea for a contest.
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Thank you! I hope others don't think I'm being prejudice by leaving the ones with the disorder out, it's all about educating the uneducated. :-)

Take your time with your submissions folks, there's still plenty of time!
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10 days left, only 1 submission in.
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