Purple Day 2014

To honor Purple Day 2014, Epilepsy Awareness, we asked our employees at RANLife to wear purple into the office.  We are amazed by all the support that was shown today!

There are approximately 50 million people   around the world living with epilepsy.

It’s estimated that 1 in 100 people have epilepsy

Epilepsy is NOT contagious. Epilepsy is NOT a disease. Epilepsy is NOT a psychological disorder.

There are approximately 2.2 million Americans living with epilepsy.

There is currently no “cure” for epilepsy. However, for 10-15% of people with epilepsy, the surgical removal of the seizure focus – the part of brain where the person’s seizures start – can eliminate all seizure activity. For more than half of people with epilepsy, medication will control their seizures. Additionally, some children will outgrow their epilepsy and some adults may have a spontaneous remission.

Not everyone can identify specific events or circumstances that affect seizures, but some are able to recognize definite seizure triggers. Some common triggers include:

• Forgetting to take prescribed seizure medication
• Lack of sleep
• Missing meals
• Stress, excitement, emotional upset
• Menstrual cycle / hormonal changes
• Illness or fever
• Low seizure medication levels
• Medications other than prescribed seizure medication
• Flickering lights of computers, television, videos, etc., and sometimes even bright sunlight
• Street drugs
• 
  

• Famous People with Epilepsy

  Throughout history, many famous people are known or are suspected of having had epilepsy. These include:
  Julius Caesar
  Alexander the Great
  Agatha Christie
  Socrates
  Joan of Arc
  Harriet Tubman 
  Napoleon Bonaparte
  Vincent Van Gogh
  Charles Dickens
  Richard Burton
  Alfred Nobel
  Thomas Edison
  And more recently:
  Actor Margaux Hemingway (1955-1996)
  Actor Danny Glover
  Singer-songwriter Neil Young
  Adam Horovitz of the music group Beastie Boys
  Mike Skinner from band The Streets
  American Olympian Florence Griffith-Joyner, aka Flo Jo (1959-1998)
  American Football guard Alan Faneca (New York Jets)
  American Football cornerback Samari Rolle (Baltimore Ravens)
  2006 U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team goalie Chanda Gunn
  For a longer list of famous people affected by epilepsy, visitWikipedia.