Purple Day

Cassidy

I would like to share a story with you today.  This story takes place 2 years ago and is about a young girl named Cassidy.  Cassidy, who was 9 years old at the time, has epilepsy.  But she is not the type of girl to let that get her down. 

Cassidy wanted everybody to know that she has epilepsy and that it was OK to talk about epilepsy.  She wanted to explain to people that epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide.  That is more people than MS, MD, Parkinson's Disease and Cerebral palsy combined.  Cassidy wanted everyone to know the truth about epilepsy and dispel some of the myths. 

It is very important to Cassidy that everyone know that people with epilepsy are ordinary people.  She also wanted other children like herself to know that they were not alone. 

March 26th - Purple Day

Cassidy was very motivated to make her wishes come true.  She decided that one way to get people talking was to ask everyone to wear purple on one special day of the year.  Purple Day was founded in 2008 by Cassidy with the support of the Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia. Epilepsy Awareness Month is celebrated in March in most of the world.  Here in the U. S. we celebrate it in November.

From the Purple Day website,

"Purple Day is an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy worldwide. On March 26, people from around the globe are asked to wear purple and spread the word about epilepsy."

 A little bit more about Cassidy in her own words from the Purple Day website.

"Before I started Purple Day, I was afraid to tell people about my epilepsy because I thought they would make fun of me. After the Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia did a presentation in my class, I started to talk with the other kids about my seizures. That is when I decided to become a spokesperson for kids with epilepsy."

Cassidy

I am asking everyone who reads this post to wear purple on Friday March 26th.  Do it for all 50 million people in the world who have epilepsy.  Do it for Cassidy.  Do it for me.