In November Bobby and I traveled to Anaheim, California to attend the Epilepsy Awareness Day Expo at Disneyland. This was my first experience of meeting others who were supporting the Epilepsy Community, were personally living with seizures or both. I had no idea what to expect as far as how I, or my book (Epilepsy Unveiled) would be embraced.
After setting our table with several images of the book cover and a couple of books on stands we immediately began to visit with other epilepsy supporters at the expo. Every person we met was very friendly and knowledgeable, in one way or the other, about epilepsy. As the crowds of people attending the Expo began to drift through the doors I swallowed a big lump in my throat and began greeting everyone who approached our table. I immediately realized that people went out of their way to walk around us or they quickly approached us and asked “what do you have here?” when they saw the cover of Epilepsy Unveiled. Most of the people who did not initially speak to us came back after looking us over from a distance and realizing we, most likely, were fairly harmless.
As I described each area of Charley’s image on the cover of Epilepsy Unveiled and what the cover symbolized almost every person I spoke with began crying. Though Charley was not there in person, his image on the cover of Epilepsy Unveiled eerily depicting him beginning to have a seizure said volumes. I think it meant so much for the people I met to speak with someone who had lived with, and fully understood, the price a person unfairly pays for having seizures.
I met two women that lived in California I have been communicating with for the last year on facebook which was awesome. I met people with service dogs and learned how these dogs allow life to be so much fuller in spite of seizures.
I met some wonderful epilepsy advocates during the expo. Most of them will be featured on my website as I know their message can inspire and help the people now dealing with seizures.
Out of everything I have ever done in my live sharing mine and Charley’s story with the hope of helping others is the most fulfilling. I hope Bobby and I can continue to attend more epilepsy events. My husband is my strongest supporter and I thank God for him every day.
I want to shout out a huge thank-you to Brad, Candy and Sophie Levy for all the work you do in supporting the epilepsy community and for inviting us to attend. Attending the Epilepsy Awareness Day at Disneyland was a dream come true.
