Wednesday, November 12, 2008

An Update and Famous People with Epilepsy - Part 2

Life is crazy right now. After having been out of town in New Mexico for a week in October and in Chicago for a week in November... I'm trying to play catch up.  The holidays are upon us and all of the fun school activities and programs have us in full swing :-)

I had the privilege of speaking at Emmanuel College this past Tuesday morning as their
Convocation speaker for Disability Awareness Week. I was so excited they were highlighting epilepsy since November is Epilepsy Awareness Month. I think there were about 600 students present - which is the largest group I have ever spoken to. Plus, it was college students - kind of a tough crowd. But I think it went well and it was fun! I really miss working on a college campus. The students are always so full of energy.

Well, I promised a series on famous people with epilepsy so I wanted to keep going before the month of November slips away from me.

Did you know that Sir Isaac Newton had epilepsy? He endured both epilepsy and the bubonic plague. He made great advances in both science and math. He founded the three laws of motion and revolutionized Western understanding of nature with his enduring theory of universal gravitation.

Not only did Isaac Newton have epilepsy but so did Charles Dickens, the author of Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol. He also gave many of the characters in his classic novels epilepsy, trying to offer readers important knowledge about the lives of people often overlooked by society.

I'll share some more people soon. The list may surprise you.

Sweet Blessings,
Amy

7 comments:

LAURIE said...

Hi Amy, that is interesting - I had no idea about those you mentioned suffering from epilepsy. Goes to show you that the disease is not partial to who it attacks. We are praying for you and Spencer. -Blessings, Laurie

Janet Roller said...

Glad you're home.
-Janet

He & Me + 3 said...

I didn't know that about Charles Dickens. Very neat information.

Melissa in Mel's World said...

I am so glad to hear you are home...we have been praying for you guys and have been following your progress.

Thanks for being so open and transparent in all you do...what a blessing you are to so many!

xoxo,
Melissa in Mel's World

PS - we still have a l-o-n-g call to catch up on. {{hugs}}

Jennifer said...

Wow...very interesting.

P. S. I have an award waiting for you over at my "place" ...come by and pick it up when you get time.

Michele Williams said...

Very informative ... thanks for sharing. Glad your home and catching up.

Denise said...

Thanks for sharing this.