HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001 12 10 National Epilepsy Awareness Month
CLAMA T
WHEREAS, Epilepsy, also known as Seizure Disorder, has afflicted mankind since the dawn of our species and
has been recognized since the earliest medical writings, and as long as 400 B.C. Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine,
repudiated ancient beliefs that Epilepsy was a visitation from the Gods and sacred or that it was a curse from the Gods that
people afflicted with this disorder held prophetic powers. Hippocrates believed that Epilepsy was a brain disorder, and
WHEREAS, a seizure is a sudden, brief attack of altered consciousness, motor activity or sensory phenomena. It
is a sign that certain brain cells (neurons) are discharging an excessive amount of electrical impulses.
WHEREAS, Epilepsy can be caused by injury to the brain, lack of oxygen at birth, brain tumor, infection and
brain hemorrhage. In sixty percent of the cases, the cause is unknown, and Epilepsy can affect anyone, at any age and at
any time, and more than two million Americans are afflicted with some type of Epilepsy. Of this number, 150,000 are
Florida residents; and with the administration of anticonvulsant drugs, two thirds (66.66%) of those afflicted with Epilepsy
are drug controlled, and
WHEREAS, lack of education about this disorder has contributed to age old myths, superstitions and prejudices,
and the stigma associated with this disorder is sometimes worse than the disorder itself, and
WHEREAS, people who have Epilepsy make reliable and conscientious workers in job performance,
productivity, safety, cooperation and attendance, and studies carried out in the UNITED STATES over the past thirty years
have indicated that of all disabilities, Epilepsy poses the greatest barrier to employment with unemployment rates estimated
to fall between twenty and twenty-five percent;
WHEREAS, Epilepsy should not be a barrier to success. In addition to the normal requirements for success, a
person who has Epilepsy needs a supportive environment and employers who are willing to give them an opportunity to
become productive citizens.
THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Mayor of Winter Springs, we sincerely recognize:
NATIONAL EPILEPSY AWARENESS MONTH
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this Proclamation be sent to the Committee for Epilepsy
Awareness, 6670 Royal Palm Boulevard, Building K, Apartment 302, Margate, Florida 33063-2189.
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Robert S. Miller
Commissioner
Michael S. Blake
Commissioner
set my hand and caused the Seal of the
d ..ofDecember,2001.
PaulP.Partyka
Mayor
Edward Martinez, Jr.
Commissioner
Cindy Gennell
Commissioner
David W. McLeod
Commissioner