Author Archives: DHamel

Epilepsy Shop supports programs and services while making you look good

August 25, 2023

By Deron Hamel

Epilepsy Ontario has created an online store to help people support programs and services for those living with epilepsy as well as to spread epilepsy awareness – and to look good while doing so.

The Epilepsy Shop was born in 2020 and has been selling an array of colourful T-shirts and hoodies embossed with campaign names to help support local epilepsy agencies and to raise awareness of seizure disorders.

The idea for the Epilepsy Shop was hatched by Trevor Gordon, Epilepsy Ontario’s social media co-ordinator.

Trevor says he came up with the idea after noticing there was a lack of epilepsy awareness apparel that was made locally and used proceeds to support epilepsy organizations.

He reached out to a graphic designer he knows, Shaun Curtis, whose resumé includes work with numerous professional sports teams including the Toronto Raptors and brands like Jollibee and Disney, for help getting the project off the ground.

“We wanted to come up with a shop where people could buy epilepsy awareness shirts and those proceeds would go to benefit epilepsy organizations,” Trevor tells Voices of Epilepsy.

People can visit the Epilepsy Shop and find regular T-shirts, women’s cut T-shirts or hoodies in a variety of colours and sizes. Every item of clothing is created on demand, so there’s no waste and all profits go towards supporting epilepsy services and programs.

The Epilepsy Shop delivers merchandise across Canada and the U.S. and shoppers pay the same flat delivery rate no matter how many items they order.

The Epilepsy Shop’s most popular items at the moment are from the Screw Epilepsy line. These shirts and hoodies feature an image of a screw next to the word “epilepsy.”

There is also a new line called Good Vibes, featuring a mascot, a cartoon brain called Cortex.

“(The Epilepsy Shop) is still new and we’re always trying to add to our inventory and come up with new shirt ideas,” Trevor says.

Additionally, Epilepsy Ontario has reached out to influencers on TikTok as well as to Canadian recording artist Jann Arden to help promote the merchandise, Trevor says, noting the organization wants to raise lots of awareness about the Epilepsy Shop.

“It’s not just about buying the shirts; it’s about the message,” he says. “One of the goals of the shop is to make promoting epilepsy awareness stylish, fun and cool.

“We don’t want to create a shirt that will gather dust on a shelf; we want to create an awareness shirt that you want to wear and show off.”

Click here to visit the Epilepsy Shop. You can use the discount code VOICES to get 30 per cent off your purchase.

Student is using her epilepsy experiences to guide others

July 6, 2023

By Deron Hamel

Isabella De Sousa is dedicated to making it her mission to provide people with epilepsy the support and guidance that has helped her on her own journey of living with the condition.

Isabella De Sousa, pictured above, is one of four students to receive a 2022 Epilepsy Ontario scholarship.

Diagnosed with epilepsy at a young age, Isabella says she experienced “a lot of anxiety and self-consciousness” growing up with the condition but was able to overcome hurdles and live the life she wanted.

 

“Since childhood, I knew that I would and always will be different from my peers because of my disability, but something I had to learn was that just because I have seizures at night doesn’t mean I can’t wake up the next morning and live my life the same way as everyone else,” Isabella says.

“I strongly believe that someone’s epilepsy should not define who they are or what they can and cannot do.”

Isabella is currently a university student. After she completes her studies, she says she wants to dedicate herself full-time to helping people move past the obstacles she faced living with epilepsy.

“The topic of epilepsy is very important to me, as I have experienced it first-hand and I know how hard it can be on people and their loved ones, both mentally and physically,” she says.

“So, if I am able to alleviate their stress and put a smile on their faces, I will be able to call that a success.”

Isabella has been involved with Epilepsy Toronto for many years, participating in the agency’s events and fundraisers and networking with others in the local epilepsy community.

Isabella is already helping others with epilepsy. She notes that through her involvement with Epilepsy Toronto, she’s meeting others in her age group who have been newly diagnosed with seizure disorders and is mentoring people by answering questions and letting them know they’re not alone.

It’s a two-way street, she says, adding the people she meets with help her as much as she helps them.

“I want to continue supporting people in the epilepsy community by being a friendly face in the community and help teach others about epilepsy hopefully making them feel more comfortable about their condition,” she says.

Isabella is one of four recipients of Epilepsy Ontario’s 2022 annual scholarship. For more than 15 years, Epilepsy Ontario has been providing scholarships to exceptional students who have confronted and overcome remarkable barriers in their academic and personal lives due to their epilepsy.

Student with epilepsy shares a unique bond with Vincent Van Gogh

June 22, 2023

By Deron Hamel

Emily Greer says Vincent Van Gogh “has a special place” in her heart.

Like Emily, the famous Dutch painter lived with epilepsy and even wrote about living with the condition. But there’s something else Emily sees in Van Gogh that others may not. And this comes from looking at one of his most famous paintings, Starry Night.

The painting is a nighttime scene depicting a bright crescent moon and plenty of stars encased in bright yellow halos hovering over a village. Some scholars see the halos as having a religious significance.

“However, based on personal experience, I see something different: the auras I experience just before having seizures,” Emily says.

Auras are commonly felt by many people living with epilepsy just before a seizure begins.

“It is possible that Van Gogh, who also lived with epilepsy, experienced colourful auras which then found their way into many of his stunning paintings,” Emily says.

And like Van Gogh, Emily is an artist. She’s also planning to become a teacher and will be entering teachers’ college in September. Her goal is to pass along her passion for art with her knowledge that there is, as Emily puts it, “an upside to epilepsy.”

Emily points to a research paper by Steve Schachter from Harvard Medical School called Sparks of Creativity: The Influences of Epilepsy in Visual Art. The study argues that people living with focal epilepsy often have increased creative potential.

“I certainly know that living with epilepsy has impacted my artwork, along with my confidence in my having artistic creativity,” she says.

“Having seizures and experiencing auras are an important part of who I am, and as an aspiring artist, these auras have had a positive impact on many aspects of my work. My artwork, and soon my teaching, will continue to reflect these positive lived experiences.”

As a teacher, Emily says she wants to influence “the attitudes of future generations” of children who are living with epilepsy and their peers.

“By advocating for inclusion in most extra-curricular activities, I can also ensure these students are not teased or ostracized, which does far more harm than epilepsy itself,” Emily says.

Emily is one of four recipients of Epilepsy Ontario’s 2022 annual scholarship. For more than 15 years, Epilepsy Ontario has been providing scholarships to exceptional students who have confronted and overcome remarkable barriers in their academic and personal lives due to their epilepsy.

Doctoral student uses his experiences with epilepsy to inspire others

June 8, 2023

By Deron Hamel

Tyler Herrington is completing his doctoral studies focused on climate-change research, defying the odds a childhood physician gave his parents when asked how epilepsy would impact his life.

Tyler Herrington, pictured above, is one of four students to receive a 2022 Epilepsy Ontario scholarship.

As a child living with epilepsy, Tyler’s parents were told by the doctor that epilepsy would prevent their son from living a rich and productive life due to challenges the condition would present.

But Tyler refused to let epilepsy stand in the way of his ambition. He attended university, earning a bachelor’s and then a master’s degree before being accepted into a doctoral program.

Tyler wants to encourage others living with epilepsy to do the same and not let their condition control their life. Recently, he notes how he spoke with a student who had received an epilepsy diagnosis. Tyler told the student not to let epilepsy derail their dreams.

“We had a chat, and I disclosed to them that I too live with epilepsy and told them about my experiences and what I’ve been able to achieve despite the diagnosis,” Tyler says.

Tyler told the student they could complete their degree, and their diagnosis doesn’t mean they should give up. His conversation with the student provided an a-ha moment for Tyler, he says.

“It was moments like these that helped me realize that I have a great passion for teaching and for outreach work – and I hope to be able to use this passion and my background in science to inspire a love of learning and to help end the stigma around epilepsy,” he says.

Tyler says he will continue speaking with others about his own experiences and try to be a role model and source of inspiration to those living with epilepsy.

“As someone who is working on a doctorate and has had experience with teaching and outreach work, I would hope to be able to use this as a platform to be open about my diagnosis and talk about my story,” he says.

“I hope to be able to use my experience with outreach education work to engage with epilepsy organizations and act as a mentor for other folks living with epilepsy.”

Tyler is one of four recipients of Epilepsy Ontario’s 2022 annual scholarship. For more than 15 years, Epilepsy Ontario has been providing scholarships to exceptional students who have confronted and overcome remarkable barriers in their academic and personal lives due to their epilepsy.