Message from the Chair

Saturday, March 31, was one of the most awe-inspiring days of my life! More than 5,000 people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the first-ever National Walk for Epilepsy. They came from all over the nation to send an important message to everyone: “End the stigma associated with epilepsy, improve medical treatment for the condition and find a cure!”

For those who were unable to attend, mark down March 29, 2008, in your calendar right now so you too can feel the goose bumps on the back of your neck as a sea of energized and committed people walk down Constitution Avenue in front of the U.S. Capitol. It was an amazing feeling to be part of an event where major streets were closed to traffic and opened only to us—and we were one strong voice representing those with epilepsy and their caregivers. As the old saying goes, it was history in the making.

There’s not one thing I would have changed about the event. The weather was perfect, attendance was incredible, volunteers were everywhere, speeches were right on the money, and, speaking of which, we raised more than $1 million! We also raised awareness as newspapers around the country published articles about the initiative and TV stations provided televised coverage of the event and activities leading up to the Walk. Much of the fantastic coverage of the Walk was a result of our Chair, Greg Grunberg, from the NBC hit series Heroes. Greg, whose son Jake has epilepsy, has been an amazing champion of our cause. While a last minute change in the production schedule required Greg to remain in LA to film the season finale episode, his personal support was a big part of the success of the Walk. Next year, we’ll double our efforts and reach out even more to our affiliates to help make this a truly national event.

Our Guest of Honor — Wesley Autrey, the New York City Subway Hero — inspired everyone with his acceptance of our first Hero of Epilepsy Award and with the remarks he made just before the Walk began. I urge you to see our 3- part interview of Wesley at www.YouTube.com/EpilepsyFoundation. It is a truly powerful and moving insight into a modern-day hero.

Thanks to everyone who made this day so meaningful and so successful. Since becoming the Chair of the Epilepsy Foundation’s Board of Directors nearly two years ago, I have been continuously pleased to see so many people dedicated to making a real difference in the lives of people with epilepsy. As someone who lives with epilepsy every single day, I appreciate what all these people have done and what we have accomplished together. We are moving the ball forward, significantly, toward our goals of ending stigma, improving treatments and finding a cure. Now, it’s our job—our purpose—to keep that ball moving!