My Lions Club friends had on 23 July 2003 invited me to give an epilepsy talk in Prima College, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The Health Talk event was organised by members of Leo Club who were studying in Prima College.
The topic EPILEPSY was unheard off by the Leos. The Leos crowded round me and self introduced themselves. They were such a nice group to be with. Their ignorance, curiosity and keen interest to know more about epilepsy had made it easy for me to have very interactive chats with them before the start of the talk. Students who were not Leos also attended the talk.
A few Leos and I stood at the entrance of the auditorium to hand out leaflets and pamphlets about epilepsy. The talk started with the college’s CEO’s welcoming speech and introduction of me. I had cramps and butterflies in my stomach. I struggled hard to conceal my stage fright. Although it was my second time giving an epilepsy talk I still felt very nervous with my presentation. I recalled my mind went blank for a few minutes during the CEO’s speech. My heartbeat was too fast and my knees were weak. I did not think I would make it on the stage.
Leave the auditorium or stay and do a good epilepsy awareness job.
I had only one option. I made it on the stage. With strength and courage from God I switched on my power point presentation. The talk went well and topics like Epilepsy and Its Triggers, Known Causes of Epilepsy, Myths and Misconceptions of Epilepsy, Epilepsy and Its Social Aspects and Right Ways to Handle a Person in a State of Seizure were covered. A DVD presentation of what is epilepsy and the various types of seizures was also shown.
Lecturers and students actively took part in the Question and Answer session. Questions were asked if epilepsy is hereditary or contagious, how would one know if he or she has epilepsy, how can we prevent PWE from swallowing or biting a piece off their tongue if spoons were not allowed to be inserted into their mouths, is there any cure for epilepsy, how can we prevent ourselves from becoming epileptic, what is absence seizure, how can epilepsy be diagnosed and by who, is there life after seizures and etc.
At the end of the Q & A session I highlighted epilepsy in a humorous way. The students will always remember what they had learned about epilepsy because we had cheeky moments to remember when a male student pretended to be in a state of seizure and called female students to crowd round him so that he can have cheap thrills. The cheeky acts were decent and done for laughter and not in a demeaning way. The students and I had a great time of fellowship and photography session at the end of everything.
ADVOCACY CHANGES PERSPECTIVES AND BRINGS ABOUT ACCEPTANCE IN A BROADER WAY.
Photograph session outside Prima College
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Great job. Just found your blog from a post in the EFA forums. Wanted to let you know I read and appreciated your work.
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