I asked our guest on the tour bus to submit something for the blog this evening. I entitled it, “How Stella Got Her Groove Back”. Here is what she wrote… -Nate, Tour Team
At the 2012 Walk to End Epilepsy I reached out to Susan from the Epilepsy Foundation and told her I wanted to get involved as an Advocate. So today when I got a phone call from her I was super excited!
Susan asked if I'd be interested in accompanying the Love Your Brain Now Tour Team up to Northern California. I was excited at first for the new experiences and to join the team to help educate others about the brain and epilepsy. As an artist I've recently been speaking up a little more about having epilepsy and trying to help others do the same when I can.
And not even 10 minutes into the tour I had my first chance!
While stopped at the promenade in Thousand Oaks, CA a man approached the tour bus, as many do, to inquire. As I stepped off the bus, Nathan, another Tour Team Member was in a heated debate over proper seizure first aid. The other man, also a doctor was insisting that when someone has a seizure, you should put something in their mouth. Eventually Susan came back and helped finish the discussion with the doctor. A DOCTOR THAT HAS SEIZURE FIRST AID WRONG!!?? SERIOUSLY!!!
I also got to share some of my story with the doctor and I think he appreciated hearing my voice, as someone with epilepsy. I saw his eyes open up big when I shared my story with him and I think it's safe to say that he will no longer be telling his patients to put something in someone's mouth when they are having a seizure. We gave him some seizure first aid materials then were on our way to Ventura and Santa Barbara Regional Centers.
When visiting Ventura County we met Erica and she took us on a tour of the facility as well. She happened to be grateful that we stopped by because apparently there have been a lot of people requesting information about epilepsy the past few weeks. It was also neat to see how medical information and resources are made available to people who might not be able to make trips into the bigger cities where more information can be found. For this reason, I think it's really important to keep the regional centers up to date with the latest information and I was happy to be part of a team doing that
Now we're heading north for some school presentations. I look forward to taking some pictures. Photography is a passion of mine and I’ll post some from the road!!
Ciao.
Stella
At the 2012 Walk to End Epilepsy I reached out to Susan from the Epilepsy Foundation and told her I wanted to get involved as an Advocate. So today when I got a phone call from her I was super excited!
Susan asked if I'd be interested in accompanying the Love Your Brain Now Tour Team up to Northern California. I was excited at first for the new experiences and to join the team to help educate others about the brain and epilepsy. As an artist I've recently been speaking up a little more about having epilepsy and trying to help others do the same when I can.
And not even 10 minutes into the tour I had my first chance!
While stopped at the promenade in Thousand Oaks, CA a man approached the tour bus, as many do, to inquire. As I stepped off the bus, Nathan, another Tour Team Member was in a heated debate over proper seizure first aid. The other man, also a doctor was insisting that when someone has a seizure, you should put something in their mouth. Eventually Susan came back and helped finish the discussion with the doctor. A DOCTOR THAT HAS SEIZURE FIRST AID WRONG!!?? SERIOUSLY!!!
I also got to share some of my story with the doctor and I think he appreciated hearing my voice, as someone with epilepsy. I saw his eyes open up big when I shared my story with him and I think it's safe to say that he will no longer be telling his patients to put something in someone's mouth when they are having a seizure. We gave him some seizure first aid materials then were on our way to Ventura and Santa Barbara Regional Centers.
When visiting Ventura County we met Erica and she took us on a tour of the facility as well. She happened to be grateful that we stopped by because apparently there have been a lot of people requesting information about epilepsy the past few weeks. It was also neat to see how medical information and resources are made available to people who might not be able to make trips into the bigger cities where more information can be found. For this reason, I think it's really important to keep the regional centers up to date with the latest information and I was happy to be part of a team doing that
Now we're heading north for some school presentations. I look forward to taking some pictures. Photography is a passion of mine and I’ll post some from the road!!
Ciao.
Stella