Seize The Sundial Epilepsy Awareness

My name is Kaia. I am a 14-year-old that was diagnosed with Epilepsy at age 9. I would like to petition you to be a part of a monumental event and moment in history by donating funds to the first ever “Seize the Sundial and Cross With Kaia” on Worldwide Epilepsy Day. City of Redding and Turtle Bay Exploration Park have collaborated with PurpleForKaia in lighting the Sundial bridge purple to honor all youth with Epilepsy. Our hope in this, is that the youth who sit in silence in their diagnosis will find the courage to speak up and confidence to know that they are not alone. Having had three different types of seizures (One, Absence Seizure or “petit mal”. Usually, I will be unresponsive when addressed and can often be mistaken as “daydreaming”. The attack lasts from a few seconds to half a minute and evaporates as rapidly as it commenced. These happen throughout the day. Two, Complex Partial. These seizures include automatisms (such as lip smacking, picking at clothes, fumbling, leaning, twitching), lasting seconds at a time daily or weekly. Third, Grand Mal or “Tonic Clonic”. This seizure has two stages. Loss of consciousness occurs first and lasts about 10 to 20 seconds, followed by violent muscle convulsions that usually last for less than two minutes. I get these from once or twice a week to once a month without warning) and this has affected my life greatly.At times, the last few years having seizures often left me feeling isolated, depressed, anxious, misunderstood and bullied by others. One third of the Epilepsy population experience depression and anxiety. Although, I have a tremendous amount of family and friend support in the community, it is very difficult for anyone to truly relate to what I go through daily. As a result, I started the “Purple for Kaia” Epilepsy Awareness campaign.After doing much research we began to realize how much awareness was needed in our community. This has become our mission. It is now recognized by the Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California, we were awarded Youth Awareness Advisory Chair of the Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California North Coast and Cascade Region.The statistics for death, injury and diagnosis of Epilepsy are astronomical and I would like to share a few with you: ▪ In the United States alone, 150,000 people are diagnosed with Epilepsy each year. Meaning that 1 in 26 people have Epilepsy, that is 3.4 million people nationwide. Which means every 4 minutes someone is diagnosed with Epilepsy. ▪ While we celebrate seizure free, there is still no cure. Medications, diet and lifestyle help many with the diagnosis but not all. An impossibly large number, 30% of Epileptics in the United States are non-responsive to medical intervention, I am one of them. ▪ Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disease. With very little research support. ▪ There are more people with Epilepsy than on the autism spectrum disorder, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy-combined. ▪ There are 40 different types of seizures. So that means, your students could be having them unrecognized by staff and students daily. ▪ SUDEP (sudden unexplained death from epilepsy) is the leading cause of death. ▪ Epilepsy causes more deaths statistically than prescription overdoses, drunk driving accidents and breast cancer, all of which have active yearly awareness campaigns. We appreciate your donations!! Youth Awareness Advisory Board ChairEpilepsy Foundation of Northern California North Coast & Cascade RegionJulee Gould, Advisory Board ChairEpilepsy Foundation of Northern California North Coast & Cascade Region