CONTEST! Research Epilepsy and win Cigars BIG TIME!

[fencefixer]

Epilepsy research contest!
The best article written wins a nice set of cigars from Scott and me! Trust me when I say: You will be very well rewarded!!

If you have any form of Epilepsy, please do not participate in this contest!
The contest will be open until March 7th 2012, midnight EST. Please read on carefully!


LIVING WITH EPILEPSY
Epilepsy has been shrouded in stigma for thousands of years. However, recent media coverage in the New York Times and Newsweek has helped bring to light the staggering number of people affected by the disorder. You might be surprised to learn just how many friends, neighbors and colleagues are living with epilepsy.


50 MILLION WORLDWIDE
Epilepsy and seizures affect three million Americans of all ages. That is more than the entire population of a city the size of Philadelphia, and double the number of people known to be affected by autism. To take an even broader look, epilepsy affects 50 million people worldwide. That's more people than were living with HIV/AIDS in 2008, according to UNAIDS.

EVERY TWO MINUTES
Every two minutes a new case of epilepsy is diagnosed. Other two-minute facts that you may be familiar with include: how often a woman is sexually assaulted or a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer.

THIRD MOST COMMON
Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in the US, after Alzheimer's and stroke, according to the Epilepsy Foundation of America. Is it really any surprise that you probably know someone with epilepsy, considering these numbers?

ON PAR WITH BREAST CANCER
The Epilepsy Foundation shows there are approximately 200,000 new cases of epilepsy and seizures diagnosed each year. According to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the same number of breast cancer cases are diagnosed. Additionally, 40,000 people will die as a result of seizures, which is the same number of people that will die as a result of breast cancer.

SEVENTY PERCENT CONJECTURE
There are more than 40 different types of seizures and not all of them involve convulsions. And in 70 percent of the cases diagnosed, no known cause is found. Yep, you read that right: 70 percent.

STARTLING MORTALITY RATE
The mortality rate is two to three times higher among people with epilepsy and the risk of sudden death (brace yourself) is 24 times greater. Yet according to the American Epilepsy Society, "it is very uncommon but not unheard of for people to die with a seizure."

MYTHS AND STIGMA LIVE ON
Sadly, myths about epilepsy have not been completely dispelled, but it is time for a change, especially considering the huge number of people affected. Epilepsy is not contagious and you cannot swallow your tongue during a seizure. So just a friendly reminder: Next time you come upon someone having a seizure please don't stick your dirty old wallet in the person's mouth to keep them from swallowing their tongue. Ick.
(Source: http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/832857/epilepsy-facts-epilepsy-by-the-numbers)



I'd like you to meet my son Drake:

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1366/drake2cau.jpg




I know, I should have called a CUTE ALERT first. :D

He was doing what all other little babies do.


But...


















Then this happened:
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/116/image062n.jpg

A few days later this happened:
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7043/image0642.jpg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/4171/image0652.jpg

We got THIS close to losing him twice that week.

[fencefixer]

3 weeks later:
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7642/image067s.jpg
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7052/image070.jpg

After almost a month of being in a coma, my son decided that there was still lots of ASS KICKING to do on this planet, and he opened his little eyes to tell daddy that he's ready for some more lessons:
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/9528/image078a.jpg
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9995/image128ypf.jpg


The day we got home. Ready to come and kick some ass in a town near you!
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/1662/image149w.jpg

Drake has Dravet Syndrome which is the most severe and fatal form of Epilepsy. He will never outgrow this. There is no cure. He will be plagued by seizures and poor developmental outcome for the rest of his life. His life expectancy is .. well let's just say I treat each one of his days as if it was his last. That's right, Drake and I kick ass every day.

So you might ask, why am I posting these pictures? A bad event happened in life and we moved on; what's the big deal, right? I got news for you: This is our routine. Hospital stays, worrying, fighting for his life is an every day thing for us. As a matter of fact, it's a routine for all people with Dravet Syndrome, and almost all of the ones with Epilepsy.

It's life threatening.


What is this contest REALLY all about?

It's not about you feeling sorry for me, my son or people that have Epilepsy. We don't need your pity, we're WARRIORS. We kick ass on a daily basis! We once had to take a day off from ass kicking but the following day we kicked ass twice as much to make up for it!

It's only to spread awareness. Most people have no idea what Epilepsy is. I want that to change. In order to do that, you need to educate yourself.

Use what I wrote above, use google, use books, use the link in my signature; whatever it takes and write an article or something like a letter that your parents or friends would understand, without the medical terms nonsense in it. It should be structured, easy to read and understand. It should be formulated in such a way that even the most ignorant person will say "Wow.. I had no idea!".

Here are some pointers for the structure:

-What is Dravet Syndrome?
-Describe a typical day and night of an Epileptic and their loved ones
-Is there a cure?
-How is it treated?
-How well is the research funded?
-Severity/life expectancy?
-Social impact
-Myths and facts


Scott and I will judge each submission and come up with a winner. As previously stated, PLEASE, if you have any form of Epilepsy, do not participate in this contest.


If you have any questions, hit up Scott (sevans105) or myself (fencefixer)!

Also.. if you're not participating in this contest, we surely could use your help to reward the winner(s) as well.

Let's get this started boys and girls, let's nuke this sucker straight from orbit!!!

[smitty81]

It really is a bad thing to go through. One of my little brothers has epilepsy and I have expierenced some very scary **** growing up with him. The attacks are very scary and they make you realize how precious life really is. He will be on meds his whole life, has to carry a special pen, can't participate in physical sports...........

My 4 year old son, he was also plagued with seizures when he was a newborn. Lots of hospital stays and bills and meds. He fortunatly has outgrown his...........Knock on wood.

Epilepsy really is a scary thing due to the fact that there really is very little known about this stuff........

[fencefixer]

Looks like we have another dad who kicks ass among us, hi smitty!

Thread approaching 100 views and no interest so far. :sh

[smitty81]

Looks like we have another dad who kicks ass among us, hi smitty!

Thread approaching 100 views and no interest so far. :sh

I will do it fence, For my son, My brother, your son and everyone else that is lost in the storm........

When does it have to be done?

(don't expect great anything to good, my writing skillls are not the best)

[pnoon]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and take a wild guess.

March 7th??
Posted via Mobile Device

[smitty81]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and take a wild guess.

March 7th??
Posted via Mobile Device

I scanned over it last night, Didn't look over it again until just now.

Sorry to burden you with my hard question........I'm at work.

[ApexAZ]

Poor guy.

[pnoon]

I scanned over it last night, Didn't look over it again until just now.

Sorry to burden you with my hard question........I'm at work.
Lighten up, Francis. It was a joke.

fwiw-I'm at work, too.
Posted via Mobile Device

[fencefixer]

Lighten up you 2, going to fire the orbital friendship cannon, DC sends love, bishes! :D

[pnoon]

Gotcha Boss. :rolleyes:
Posted via Mobile Device

[smitty81]

Just emailed mine.

[fencefixer]

1 submission so far.

Come on folks, it's really simple. Write something like an article or a letter like you would to your friends, touching base with the facts mentioned above, in an easy to understand manner.

[Taki]

Give me a day or two and I will be in!!!

This is a great way to make people aware of what a person might face living with epilepsy or what his or her loved ones go through.

I will submit mine in a day or two :tu

[fencefixer]

Thank you and take your time, you got until March 7. :)

[ArgusP2]

Haven't used my writing skills in a while but I'll give it a go!

[docdoty]

I would love to participate but I have a Seizure dissorder so no go for me. Mine is not that bad and I have only had a few in the past year but they do suck for sure and many people do not have the skills or understanding to deal with someone having a seizure in front of them.

Great Idea for a contest.

[fencefixer]

I would love to participate but I have a Seizure dissorder so no go for me. Mine is not that bad and I have only had a few in the past year but they do suck for sure and many people do not have the skills or understanding to deal with someone having a seizure in front of them.

Great Idea for a contest.

Thank you! I hope others don't think I'm being prejudice by leaving the ones with the disorder out, it's all about educating the uneducated. :tu

Take your time with your submissions folks, there's still plenty of time!

[fencefixer]

http://forums.watchuseek.com/attachments/f29/539840d1319204349-new-price-omega-speedmaster-apollo-11-35th-anniversary-3569-31-limited-edtion-mariobump.jpg

[fencefixer]

10 days left, only 1 submission in.

[44stampede]

Sending you and fam some prayers man.

[fencefixer]

Much appreciated Brett. :tu

[Blak Smyth]

Bump for a good cause!

[fencefixer]

I was going to put up an example letter and it's very close to the deadline, on top of that I've got some things going on here, so I'm extending the deadline by another 2 weeks.

New deadline is Wednesday, March 21.

[fencefixer]

This is a real good example:

http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/epilepsy-advocacy-letter-sample-11849/

[fencefixer]

1 week left.

[Taki]

I was going to put up an example letter and it's very close to the deadline, on top of that I've got some things going on here, so I'm extending the deadline by another 2 weeks.

New deadline is Wednesday, March 21.

Bump...just today and tomorrow left for this great cause!!!

[fencefixer]

One day left, got some nice submissions so far.

Even if it's just a paragraph you saw on the internet and altered, send it in! :)

[fencefixer]

~11 hours left.

[ApexAZ]

Did someone win?

[fencefixer]

Someone will, give me a few days and I'll announce who. ;)

[smitty81]

The suspense is killing us. We thought the winner would be announced yesterday.

[smitty81]

Everything ok with you fence?

[fencefixer]

not really
in bed with a friggin fever i feel like crap

[smitty81]

not really
in bed with a friggin fever i feel like crap

I was wondering, havn't seen you around for a while.

Drink some day or nyquil, you can take ibuprofen with it as well to keep your fever down better/longer. Get better soon!

[Taki]

not really
in bed with a friggin fever i feel like crap

That sucks brother!! Hope you get better soon!!! :tu

[fencefixer]

im still in bed and bad shape so excuse my typing, i know you guys want to know the winner is and i'll be some time before i get better, scott and i have decided that all submissions were awesome but there can be only one winner which is:

Taki

you should be receiving a little care package from both scott and i.. give me until next week if you would please to send mine out i really don't feel well at all i can hardly function

i will post Taki's write-up here soon too

thanks again everyone for joining in on this and i'm sorry if you didn't make it to be the winner, like i said all submissions were great but Taki's stood out from the rest. really hope this somehow affected people's thinking on what the condition is and some others not to frown upon it by learning the facts. love you all and be good please.

dc

[Taki]

im still in bed and bad shape so excuse my typing, i know you guys want to know the winner is and i'll be some time before i get better, scott and i have decided that all submissions were awesome but there can be only one winner which is:

Taki

you should be receiving a little care package from both scott and i.. give me until next week if you would please to send mine out i really don't feel well at all i can hardly function

i will post Taki's write-up here soon too

thanks again everyone for joining in on this and i'm sorry if you didn't make it to be the winner, like i said all submissions were great but Taki's stood out from the rest. really hope this somehow affected people's thinking on what the condition is and some others not to frown upon it by learning the facts. love you all and be good please.

dc


Let me first say...I hope your feeling better and get better soon!!

Secondly, this was a very interesting contest which had a great cause! I tried my best to research the topic in general and put togther something that I thought would help so that if someone would read it, they would be a little more interested in learning more.

Thank you again,
Taki

[ApexAZ]

Congrats, Taki! Can't wait to read it.

[maninblack]

Congrats Taki!! Doing the zombies proud!

[fencefixer]

Here's Taki's write up. I will post this in our Dravet Syndrome support group my friend, believe me when I say that this will send lots of good Karma your way. All they want is to be understood and I think everyone agrees with me when I say you batted a home run here and did some very fine homework. Love ya bro.






A quiet, peaceful life filled with many friends and a healthy family is a future that most people dream about from a very young age. To grow up, get married, and have children is the life that the majority of the world wants. Unfortunately, life is not that easy, problems do happen, and tragedy can strike: Epilepsy. It is the most common serious neurological condition affecting people of all ages. Most cases develop during infancy or by late adolescence, yet today the degree of Epilepsy is not fully understood.

Epilepsy is a neurological condition, which affects the nervous system, also known as a seizure disorder. It is usually diagnosed after a person has had at least two seizures that were not caused by some known medical condition like alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar. It may result from a head injury, stroke, brain tumor, lead poisoning, genetic conditions, or severe infections like meningitis or encephalitis. In over 70 percent of cases no cause for Epilepsy were identified. Every 2 minutes someone in the world is diagnosed with Epilepsy. There are approximately 200000 new cases of Epilepsy and seizures diagnosed each year. The same number of breast cancer cases are diagnosed. 40000 people will die as a result of seizures this year, which is the same number of people that will die as a result of breast cancer, yet the funding for a cure is next to 0 compared to breast cancer research funding.

Not everyone who has a seizure has Epilepsy. Nearly 10 percent of people will have a seizure during their lifetime; most of these are provoked seizures during an acute illness or condition. These people though may never have Epilepsy. There are different types of seizures people can have; such as partial seizure or focal, they begin in one part of the brain. They cause varied symptoms - An aura, which is a funny feeling in your stomach, staring, chewing, lip smacking, shaking, or stiffness in parts of the body. Generalized seizures are when the entire brain is affected. This causes loss of consciousness. One type is grand mal, which is when the body stiffens and jerks. Another type is petit mal, which is momentary loss of consciousness without abnormal body movement.

Some factors of seizures are infections of the brain. This includes meningitis, encephalitis, and brain abscess. Strokes are also a risk. Epilepsy can also cause brain tumors; usually they are slow growing and don't affect the person for years. Some other factors that cause Epilepsy is age. The risk of seizures is higher in young children and also is higher in males than in females.

The most common treatment for Epilepsy is the daily use of anticonvulsant or antiepileptic drugs to prevent seizures. These medications act on brain signals to limit hyper excitability. While medications do not cure Epilepsy, they allow many people to live normal, active lives. Another option is a VNS (vagal nerve stimulation), this involves electronic stimulation of the brain using an implanted device like a pacemaker which can help reduce the length of a seizure. Another one is brain surgery, this is when a part of the brain that is causing the seizures is removed so that it prevents it from spreading to anther part of the brain.

Epilepsy is a common neurological disease. If it isn't adequately treated, it can be disabling or even lead to death. The mortality rate is 2-3 times higher among people with Epilepsy and the risk of sudden death is 24 times higher. It can frequently lead to social isolation, poor school or job performance, restriction of driving privileges, family stress, and loss of independence and self esteem. Advances in the past 10 years, however, offer many new options for the treatment of Epilepsy, including new medications, the vagal nerve stimulation and brain surgery. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, only thing lacking is funds for a cure and acceptance and awareness by the general public.

[Blak Smyth]

Very nice job Taki, definitley deserves to win!!!

[Taki]

Just received everything and I love everything about this package!!! The cigars where just a bonus IMO!!! Please take a look at both links below to get the full jist!!!!

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1616171#post1616171

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?p=1616071#post1616071

[fencefixer]

Glad you like it Taki, congrats again my friend. :)