“It’s November 30th already? Okay, time to wrap it up, no more seizures for the next 11 months!”
This is the last day of Epilepsy Awareness Month, but that doesn’t mean the end of epilepsy. You won’t get the same ads and billboards and Facebook posts reminding you about epilepsy, but even though it’s not in your face anymore, it’s still here.
African Americans have accomplished a lot of things outside of Black History Month. People are frequently thankful when it’s not November 25th. Christmas… is a monster that’ll eventually consume the entire year if it isn’t stopped.
But my point is that the calendar shouldn’t dictate our behavior, you know? Yay for black people making history during the summer! Yay for being thankful during the summer! Yay for Christmas… No! Not okay! The song is called 12 DAYS of Christmas, not MONTHS! Go back to December where you belong!
…
Ahem.
As I was saying, the calendar shouldn’t dictate our behavior. Awareness, understanding and acceptance of epilepsy shouldn’t stop when Awareness Month is over.
If you feel the desire to help, there are plenty of ways to support people with epilepsy. It doesn’t have to involve advocacy at the capitol or donating your life savings. You can talk to people, listen to their stories, lend them a hand… hell, even remembering not to stuff your wallet in someone’s mouth when they’re having a grand mal seizure is a step in the right direction.
I’m aware of it every day. It’s part of me and we have a constantly evolving relationship. (I just started a new medication today, so three cheers for the next stage of evolution!) For everyone else… who knows? Maybe they’ll think about epilepsy over the next 11 months, maybe they won’t, but either way, it’s here. It’s here today, it’ll be here tomorrow and the next day and the next day and even on Christmas, too. Especially if the holiday eventually reaches its peak and then every day will be Christmas!
Welcome to Christmas Awareness Month, Day 30: The End… until tomorrow.
