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Epilepsy has a patron saint!

February is well known as the token day for lovers.
But few people realise that St Valentine is also the patron saint of epilepsy.
According to East St Kilda's Roy Hirsch, the honour was awarded to St Valentine because of the phonetic similarity between the German word for "fallen" "Fallentine-tine" which is pronounced "Valentine".

Mr Hirsch is an epileptic working hard for public acceptances of the disabled.

He points out that Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Napoleon and more recently Agatha Christie, all suffered from epilepsy.

People must realise that everyone can suffer from a certain form of epilepsy at some time in their life.

Epilepsy affects more people than cerebral palsy, blindness, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease combined; these disabilities in certain instances are with more than one disability when epilepsy is included. That is where the total number of epileptics are also counted as a multiple disability.

With the aid of drugs and in consultation with doctors and dieticians (drugs can cause weight problems) 85% of epileptics can have complete control over the spasms and 15% maintain substantial control.

Mr Hirsch said that even watching TV and concentrating on one thing for any length of time could bring on epilepsy.

We also think it accounts for many single road accidents he said.

Some people faint when they become stressed and even that's listed as a form of epilepsy.

The World Health Organisation lists 360 different form of epilepsy.

A lot of diagnosed epileptics feel ashamed, embarrassed, and guilty to admit to it. Also people's attitudes and ignorance don't help at all and they need to be more helpful when there is a seizure-taking place in the public eye instead of as usual staring'.

There still is a ignorance that seems to continue on even though there have been an increase of publicity about certain issues that arise; with those formats they are getting more publicity than what they did in the past.
There is also a disabled group which is trying to get more understanding of epilepsy from what those who suffer from epilepsy see as the necessities of life from their INSIGHT, KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, UNDERSTANDING, and INTEREST which have a lot more in depth the epileptics gain in life; those gifts are a great deed achieved which give the sufferers more understanding that the professionals do and will never have as much in depth ever which is more attention needs to be set out from the professional area which in so doing will achieve more and will bring more closeness which will make everyone feel better, brighter and happier than before which will then than at present.

With those well-known people the numerous differences between them and the epileptics of today are:

Curiosity: how did people react to epilepsy and the people that suffered from epilepsy in the past?

Improving the more knowledge that arises from past experiences, which point out to the learning's we will achieve.

Information on epilepsy, reducing prejudices, information on the latest types of diagnosis and treatment

Epilepsy should be installed as an educational subject in schools in the senior's school at a certain method by the school educational basis to suit their program from both sides with people that suffer from epilepsy to also have some input to the programme.

As working to make improvements for epileptics you are invited to make some sort of contribution wherever possible; as you will enable me to improve things gradually, you are also invited to writing. .
Contact may be made to rrhirsch@hotmail.com. Or 61 03 95274446.

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