Digital News Report- This weekend thousands of epilepsy advocates, caregivers, patients and their families joined television stars and sports celebrities at the nation’s Capitol today to support the third annual National Walk for Epilepsy. The two-mile walk, which is chaired by actor Greg Gunburg (Heroes, Felicity), helps raise funding for programs for people with epilepsy and aid in the search for a cure. The Epilepsy Foundation hosted the walk with financial support from Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
“The Walk has continued to gain momentum as more celebrities and people throughout the nation have helped make this the world’s largest event dedicated to raising awareness and funds for epilepsy,” said president and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation, Eric Hargis. “This event has helped bring epilepsy to the forefront of discussions and gain national attention. We are grateful to the thousands of individuals who helped in our journey to educate, empower and encourage the epilepsy community.”
Grunberg, who led the walk with his wife and two children, has also used Twitter to reach out to fans and spread awareness about epilepsy. He has also launched a webite (talkaboutit.org), which features actors such as fellow Heroes stars Hayden Panettiere and Zachary Quinto giving information and advice about “it.” The “it,” of course, is epilepsy.
“Being the parent of a child with epilepsy can be such a lonely feeling,” Said Grunberg. “Going through the process of finding any way you can to make your child better is complicated and draining. But, what we found even more emotionally devastating was how society reacted to people with epilepsy. Most people don’t know what epilepsy is, what to do when someone has a seizure, or how they should respond when they hear someone has epilepsy. I created Talk About It.org so parents of children with epilepsy – anyone with epilepsy – will not feel isolated or afraid ever again.”
“We were really proud to be part of the Walk again and bring our families and friends together to support the epilepsy community,” said New York Jets offensive lineman and eight-time Pro Bowler, Alan Faneca, who also took part in the walk. “It provides a great opportunity to let other people with epilepsy know that they should be advocates for themselves, find the highest quality care and move forward with accomplishing their dreams.”
Epilepsy affects 40 to 50 million people worldwide. It is estimated that 200,000 people will be diagnosed with it this year alone. Epilepsy is identified as a person having two or more unprovoked seizures. To this date there is no known cure.