National Walk for Epilepsy

The 2008 National Walk for Epilepsy
Mark your calendars- on March 29th, 2008 the Epilepsy Foundation is hosting its 2nd Annual National Walk for Epilepsy. The Walk takes place in Washington, D.C. during a very beautiful time of year, cherry blossom season. Now is a great time to sign up and start raising funds, both to get there yourself and/or to raise money for the Foundation. This is the American Walk for Epilepsy -- I'll discuss below plans for Canada's First National Walk for Epilepsy.

Long Overdue- But Better Late Than Never
Finally, a National event to raise awareness and money for epilepsy. Epilepsy is probably one of the oldest known disorders. Pythagoras and Socrates were said to have suffered from seizures. Why is it that only now (2500 years later) we are seeing National Walks and other great fund-raising initiatives for epilepsy? Better late than never though, right? Right.

Speaking of "Better Late Than Never"
My wife and I attended the 1st Annual National Walk for Epilepsy last year and it was wonderful. This might be old news to some, but I thought I'd post on it for those of you who don't know about the Walk or are interested in some details. It took place on the National Mall, Washington D.C. on March 31, 2007. It consisted of walking 5kms (why would an American foundation advertise a 5 kilometer walk? I guess a "3.10685 mile Walk" doesn't roll of the tongue very well) down the National Mall and by all of the great museums and heritage buildings.

Before-hand, I presented my research at the National Institutes of Health's "Curing Epilepsy 2007" conference in Bethesda, Maryland. This conference consisted of talks by some of the world's most eminent epilepsy researchers. Naturally, the conference promoted the Walk and many of the conference attendees stuck around for an extra day to take part in the Walk.

I was excited about the Walk. My nephew had been recently diagnosed with epilepsy and my wife and I saw this as a great chance to support him. The Walk began Saturday morning, bright and early. It was a gorgeous Spring day. My wife and I did a few cartwheels outside the Canadian Embassy on our way to the National Mall. The energy was a mixture of sadness and hope. Many people had team shirts made up for the Walk. Some shirts told of how a loved one died of SUDEP (Sudden, Unexplained Death in Epilepsy). Others had shirts telling everyone what State they were representing.

Some people did the 5km Walk in a wheel chair. Some ran the 5km. Most simply walked the Walk (pardon the pun). It was very exciting being surrounded by 3000 other people with a common goal/desire: to raise money and awareness for epilepsy. In the end, the Walk was a success. There were representatives from every State (I suspect that we were the only "Canucks" present) and they raised a little over $1,000,000 for the Epilepsy Foundation. That money will go towards supporting those with epilepsy, promoting epilepsy awareness and funding some epilepsy research.

Why a Walk?
A National Walk is a great way to raise both money and awareness for an issue. Most of the 3000 walkers solicited support from several friends and family members. The word really gets out there, causing a ripple effect that brings the topic of epilepsy into the collective conscious of a Nation.

A Canadian Walk for Epilepsy
Canada is currently in the early stages of organizing a National Walk for Epilepsy. The goal is have the Walk in mid- to late-2008. I'll definitely keep everyone updated as the plans progress.

Onward and upward!

Kirk.