I started showing signs that I would be dealing with epilepsy for the rest of my life when I was about 16.

One thing that gave me solace was the song by Joy Division, “She’s Lost Control.”  Ian Curtis, the lead singer of the band, had epilepsy, and wrote the song about a girl having a seizure. It was nice to know someone cool has seizures too.

It’s wasn’t easy back then for me to face the fact that I need pills to make me “normal.” Other people with epilepsy need a lot more than that. Locally, there’s a little boy that’s been fighting to take his service dog with him to school. This boy has to wear a safety helmet as it is, and now he has to fight to take this dog with him to school. It looks like he and his family are winning the fight, but why should they have to fight? And that’s only one family’s story.

When Doug and I went on the National Walk for Epilepsy last year, it was energizing to see how many other stories there are out there. Seizures are confusing and discouraging, but none of us are alone.

There is a lot of research to be done, and many families’ lives would be improved with more knowledge and understanding about seizures. I’ve seen new medications released and information campaigns developed in just the past 20 years, so I have faith that there are even more significant developments to come.

And I’ve got faith in you, my friends and readers… I’m going to be there at the National Walk for Epilepsy again – two months from today – on March 27. We could use your help.

1. Help by LEARNING about epilepsy. Just click over to the Epilepsy Foundation’s website to learn something you didn’t know. That will be priceless.
2. Help by DONATING to make our short walk around the National Mall count more. Click over to my walk page, then click SUPPORT TEAM DC GRRL or MAKE A GIFT.

ALSO SEE: Why I’m walking for epilepsy

After months of fundraising, today I crossed the finish line at the National Walk for Epilepsy with my biggest supporter, my husband. It felt great to have worked for this cause that affects me every day, and to be part of this effort to raise awareness for this condition.

There were so many thousands of people there this morning, families and friends supporting each other. It was empowering. There were also NFL athletes and local and national celebrities there to help draw attention to our cause. Of course that means we grabbed some autographs and pictures, you know me!

The money we raised will go to fight stigma, raise awareness and find a cure for epilepsy. My hope is that this Walk will help bring more families closer to seizure-free lives, and help people better understand what epilepsy is all about. This year’s theme is Talk About It. There is a great new website at TalkAboutIt.org to explain epilepsy to the world. I hope you’ll check it out!

ALSO SEE: Why I’m walking for epilepsy

On Saturday, March 27, 2010, I will be participating in the National Walk for Epilepsy on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Why? Because I was diagnosed with epileptic seizures at the age of 16. I’m lucky enough to be able to control my seizures (which generally occur at night) with daily medication, but not all people with epilepsy are so fortunate.

I have a friend suffering seizures caused as a result of a brain tumor, who is still working to find the right medication for her. I have another friend who has seizures that were triggered by her second pregnancy. Taking medication at all during pregnancy is scary, but not as dangerous as a seizure could be.

Epilepsy — which refers to a number of different seizure disorders — affects lots of people in different ways, and seizure management is a tricky business.

For me, epilepsy means daily medication which I’ve taken since I was first diagnosed (over 20 years ago). The worst thing I have suffered from a seizure is biting my tongue in my sleep. (Although that can be a pretty severe bite.) Learning I would have to take medicine to be ‘normal’ for the rest of my life was a tough thing for a teenager to get used to. But it’s not so bad.

I have been lucky to have pretty great health care, constant coverage via my parents or corporate plans, and access to top-of-the-line research hospitals to be sure I’m getting the right medicine for me. Not everyone is so fortunate. But I like to pay it forward. I contribute to websites that give me free services. And I want to help the research that has helped me. So…

The money I’m helping to raise through the Walk will go towards research for better treatments, to raise awareness and maybe even to find a cure for epilepsy. My hope is that this walk will help bring other families closer to seizure-free daily lives.

Please donate whatever you are able. I know there are many worthy causes asking for donations now, but this one affects someone you know — and maybe some other folks that haven’t had the guts to tell you yet.

Here’s my fundraising page:

Heather’s National Walk for Epilepsy PageThank you so much for your support and friendship.

The First Annual Silver Spring Zombie Walk took place Saturday night, and color me impressed. Of all the rogue events going on this month, this was the most beautiful. And what a relief, it had nothing to do with the election!

Of course, this is the DC area, so there were political commentaries made. Without a ballot cast, it was clear who would win the zombie vote. I found Kucinich’s campaign manager had risen and was walking with us. It was obvious he had been buried for some time. There was a zombie plumber with “McPain” on the back of his jacket, and there was one zombie blatantly wearing a “Zombies for Obama” t-shirt, carrying a “Yes We Can Eat Brains/Brains We Can Believe In” sign.

This was my first trip to the Quarry House, which hides in a basement on a corner across from the Piratz Tavern on Georgia Avenue. I was impressed with their beer list, their vegetarian fare, their fried pickles, and the way their wait staff dealt with a sudden influx and egress of 50-75 zombified patrons on a tight schedule.

The group of us managed to hustle out of the bar and through Silver Spring’s outdoor mall where the usual Saturday night crowd was not expecting Halloween to be continuing en masse. Children, of course, were the most fun to come upon. (If they didn’t burst into tears.) But folks of all ages were startled, amused, and amazed. It was great fun. Our walk wound through pubs and alleys an ended at the AFI, where they were showing, appropriately, Night of the Living Dead, our end game.

Personally, I met some new friends and found out some people I work with are into the same freaky stuff I happen to be. Weird. And I certainly needed that break! Whoever is responsible for putting Election Day right after Halloween had some kind of smarts.

And to the organizers of the Zombie Walk, three groans! Well done. Hope to see you next year!

Update: see more details and commentary at http://www.silverspringsingular.com and at http://dustandcorruption.blogspot.com