Americans with Disabilities Act— 25th Anniversary

Today is the 25^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  It was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990.  At the time, President Bush compared the ADA to the fall of the Berlin Wall and declared, “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.”

The law’s intent is to give equal rights and opportunity to all people with disabilities, seen and hidden.  Disability is defined

World Brain Day

Yesterday (July 22, 2015) was World Brain Day, and this year’s focus is epilepsy.  (I just came across the link today.)  World Brain Day is an initiative of the World Federation of Neurology, the International League Against Epilepsy, the International Bureau for Epilepsy, and the World Health Organization.

They have many good resources about epilepsy on their website.  I encourage you to take a look.

Thanks!

http://www.wfneurology.org/world-brain-day-2015

The Magic Number: 2-1-1

In her blog Epilepsy Talk, Phylis Feiner Johnson posted an entry about where to find resources on driving laws and how to access services if you don’t drive.  One of those resources is 2-1-1.  This phone number and website are extremely useful, not only for people with epilepsy, but for people in general who need access to:

--Healthcare

--Food

--Jobs

--Emergency/disaster relief

I encourage you to check it out.

If you have any other useful resources, please feel free to share them here.

Thanks!

Resources

http://epilepsytalk.com/2015/07/18/resources-for-when-you-cant-drive/

http://www.211.org/

Seizure Triggers

Pardon my not having posted anything for over ten days.  I went on a family vacation in Hawaii for the past week and just returned a few days ago.

The vacation was very pleasant.  We did many special activities, including seeing an Ulalena show, a history of the Hawaiian people in song and dance.  We also went to a luau and tried out many restaurants, sampling traditional Hawaiian foods.

However, there was one major thing about the stay in Hawaii that was inconvenient at best, and unbearable at its worst.  The weather was nothing like I have experienced in a long time.  Not only was it hot, it was extremely humid!

The heat and humidity got so bad that, during lunch one day, it caused me to have a cluster of seizures.  This made me realize how careful I had to be and to try to keep cool and hydrated.  Obviously, heat is a seizure trigger for me.

The Confederate Flag

Today, I will not discuss epilepsy issues.  However, I hope you will find this post interesting. 

In recent weeks, since the violence in the South Carolina churches against African Americans, there has been much discussion about, and action taken on, taking down the Confederate battle flag from state government institutions.   

The flag has a deep history and symbolizes many things to many people.  The fact that it has many negative historical associations linked to it, primarily that of slavery, is reason enough to take it down.

Happy Fourth of July (American Independence Day)!

Tomorrow is July 4^th—Independence Day in the United States of America.  This is a time to especially honor both active duty members of our military as well as our veterans.

They put their lives on the line each day to defend the freedoms we too often take for granted.  In this increasingly complicated and violent world, we depend on their skill, training, and knowledge to keep us as safe as possible.  Often, this means going into uncharted territories to carry out dangerous missions.