Category Amazon.com

DISTRICT ATTORNEY: BE AFRAID OF EPILEPTICS

Category: Amazon.comblogging about bloggingFalling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizuresUncategorized Comments: 2 comments

At two o’clock in the afternoon, on February 2, 2014, Armando Arias Gonzalez Jr. was driving on East Covell Boulevard in Yolo County, California when he had a seizure. His car struck and killed Ruth Darlene Morales. In his post-seizure state, Mr. Gonzalez drove away and almost immediately got into another accident, injuring a mother and daughter. He was promptly arrested (1).

According to his brother, Mr. Gonzalez had been seizure free for more than six months (2), which, according to California law, made him a lawful driver. The law regarding epilepsy and driving in California reads as follows (3):

“No probation is needed for drivers who have achieved six or more months of control and there are no coexisting medication conditions that would aggravate the driver’s seizures or impair th...

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GIVE US OUR MEDICINE

Category: Amazon.comFalling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizuresUncategorized Comments: One comment

I have resisted writing about medical marijuana because I used to smoke and I didn’t want to come off like one of those idiots who simply wants an excuse to legally “burn one.” Let’s be honest: most of the people getting prescriptions to smoke medical marijuana in California have no actual need for those prescriptions.

But I have changed my mind recently and here’s why: There are people who are making actual medicine out of it.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta went on CNN in a Documentary called, “Weed” (1). In it, he talked about Charlotte, a little girl who was suffering from 300 seizures a week and now has that number down to an incredible two per month with the help of a new strain of marijuana called cannabidiol (2)...

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ORDER THE BEST EPILEPSY BOOK ON THE MARKET FOR XMAS

Category: Amazon.comFalling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizuresUncategorized Comments: No comments

“Falling Down Funny,” Mark Hawkins’ very personal account of living with adult-onset seizures, is now available as a download or in paperback. Called “brave and very funny“ (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FFTUG9G) and a “funny, moving and overall an uplifting read” (ibid), this work attempts to describe both the experience of an actual seizure as well as living with this condition. A must read for anyone living with seizures or trying to understand what someone they know is going through, “Falling Down Funny” is “brave and hilarious.” (ibid.)

Order now:

Download: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FFTUG9G

Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/4475327

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LOOK! I’M ON TV

Category: Amazon.comFalling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizures Comments: 3 comments

I just watched an episode of the television show “House.” A patient started having a seizure and a character named Dr. Chase yelled, “Hold him down.” I thought, “Really? That’s what you would do? And you’re supposed to be a doctor?” I am not a doctor. Nor do I play one on TV. But as an epileptic, I know you do not hold down a patient having a seizure, even on a TV show.

I am willing to suspend a little disbelief here for the purposes of enjoying the show. I certainly understand that TV characters and stories need to be interesting or the show gets boring. Hugh Laurie (Dr. House) has to be a little insane to make people watch the show. Even ‘Reality TV’ is not reality...

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HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE EPILEPTIC?

Category: Amazon.comblogging about bloggingFalling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizures Comments: 2 comments

I am a stand-up comedian. It has been my full-time occupation since 1991. True, I am not rich or famous but I have paid my bills and eaten Taco Bell. I have made a reasonable living. And I know my way around a joke.

The point I am so slowly getting to here is that I have had a hard time writing jokes about epilepsy. The subject has eluded me. I’ve written jokes that I knew were pretty funny but when I tried them out onstage I could not figure out why they did not get any laughs. I reworked them. Nothing. It took me years to figure out why those jokes were not happening and when I finally figured out what the problem was I was not happy with the answer.

I have come up with two basic reasons why the subject is not a good choice for me onstage...

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