November is Epilepsy Awareness Month. Please tell your family, friends, and coworkers about epilepsy. We want our society to gain a better awareness. Purchase a few copies of Chris Maxwell’s physical book Underwater here, or eBook and Audiobook– and give copies to others. This mouth various people will write stories for Chris Maxwell’s blog, offering thoughts about live with epilepsy. #EpilepsyAwarenessMonth 

My name is Tim Tilt, and I’ve lived most of my life in Texas.

I was a 23 year old fire fighter and emergency medical technician in the Air Force when I experienced my first complex-partial seizure. Thank the Lord I wasn’t hurt. Because I was by myself, was okay, and no one else had seen it, I just blew it off as one of those “Huh. Odd. Oh well” kind of things.  Nine months later though, I had a severe, long-lasting seizure while driving and badly damaged my car.  Thankfully, it was at about 1:00 in the morning and as far as I know, didn’t involve anyone else.  I spent eight days in the hospital, and at that time, the doctors diagnosed me epilepsy.  That diagnosis drastically changed my life and the lives of my family, close friends, and employers since then. That was 38 years ago, and epilepsy remains a daily part of my life.  Because I was in the military, I’ve been blessed to have EXCELLENT treatment through the Veterans Administration (VA) in conjunction with the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Suggested links: of course, the Epilepsy Advocate web site, Epilepsy Foundation in general, and connections with one’s local chapter of the EF. Multiple Face Book epilepsy related groups. If a person is active duty, or former military, there’s the relatively new Epilepsy Centers of Excellence for veterans (ECoE). Their web site is https://www.epilepsy.va.gov./ There are four centers throughout the country. Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast. They recommend making contact at the above government website, as well as the Epilepsy Foundation, the American Epilepsy Society www.aesnet.org., and the Epilepsy Therapy Project www.epilepsy.com.

Suggestions: Don’t hesitate to get help. Let people around you, who have the need to know, know that you have epilepsy, and what to expect if you have a seizure.  Give them: supervisor, co-workers, friends, a list of dos and don’ts, when to call an ambulance, what NOT TO DO, EVER!!!  Take the time to get familiar with what might happen to with a person with epilepsy, depending on what kind/s of seizures they experience, and signs to watch for.

Look for stories of people’s personal experience with epilepsy.  Many posted on Facebook and other websites on a daily basis.

I would highly recommend a recently released book #Underwater, written by my friend Chris Maxwell. It’s his well-expressed #personal journey with epilepsy. It was a blessing and encouragement to me, to know that others have faced similar experiences to mine, and have been victorious, in spite of the difficult journey.  November is #Epilepsy Awareness Month.  Wear purple.  Check your local area to see if there is going to be a #Walk for Epilepsy, or some other kind of function focusing on people with epilepsy, or who are care givers of people with epilepsy.

I had the joy this past Sunday, of telling a good friend about Chris Maxwell’s book, #Underwater.  She knows someone  who was recently diagnosed with epilepsy, and is looking for reliable information about it, that can be easily understood by the average person. She asked if I knew of any down to earth stories about someone’s journey with epilepsy.  First thing that came to mind? #Underwater. My friend Googled it right then and there, and said she was going to order Chris’ book on line and give it to the young lady who is facing an entirely new chapter of her life, after learning that she has epilepsy.