Coming Out

I've never stopped to consider how difficult it must be for people with epilepsy to come out and discuss what is happening to them. While easier now than it was 10, 15, or even 25 years ago, it is still viewed by many as exceptionally rare or out of the norm. The statistics paint a frighteningly different reality.
According to the Epilepsy Foundation, there are nearly 3,000,000 people affected by some form of epilepsy. That's about 1 out of every 100. There are 200,000 new cases of epilepsy reported each year.
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/about/statistics.cfm

When I think about all the people who have passed in and out of my life every day... People with whom I went to school. I had 400 people in my HS, and nearly 2,000 in my college. I don't know of a single other who had epilepsy when I was growing up. But they're there. People whom I know socially from the bars and groups of which I am a member. People from the jobs I have held. Friends of friends to whom I am introduced at parties.

In the last few years, the number of people I have met who have epilepsy, know someone who has epilepsy, have a family member with epilepsy, etc., is astounding.
It's not that there are that many more people being afflicted with epilepsy (or maybe there are and I am not as up on epilepsy statistics as I could/should be), it is simply that people (like me, even) realize as we get older that there is no reason to hide this.

I am not going around with a big sign or badge saying "Hey World, look at me! I have epilepsy!" Far from it. (I do wear a medic-alert bracelet, though, and sometimes people ask about it.) But I am not afraid to talk about it. All my friends know, but it's not a focus of our daily lives. My best friends know about my battles and will ask about how my medications are working for me, and if I have had any episodes. They care and are concerned. This is why they are my friends and one of the many reasons I love them as much as I do.

I have been able to connect with old friends whose children have been afflicted, work friends whose family members are afflicted, and have met more people who have spoken about their being afflicted. Did this occur merely because I am open about my own epilepsy. Not at all, though I am sure it helped in certain cases.

The moral of this story is that talking helps. It can be cathartic, and the love and support you will invariably get from family and friends (the right ones, at least) is worth its weight in gold. I know it has been for me.

So Mom, Dad, Laura, Mary, aunts and uncles, and other friends too numerous to list; thank you for everything. You have made my journey through dealing with epilepsy that much easier to deal with.
Greg