people don’t care about epilepsy tagged posts

FOLLOW UP: Why Marijuana Testing Isn’t Happening

Category: blogging about bloggingcharlotte's webcongressman on marijuanaDon AbramsEarl BlumenguerFalling Down Funny BookGovernor John HickenlooperGovernor on MarijuanaJohn HickenlooperJohn McCain on marijuanaKevin Sabetmarijuana researchMark Hawkinsno THCPatrick KennedyPatrick Kennedy on marijuanaSeizuressenator on marijuanaUncategorized Comments: No comments

I wrote a blog recently about a strain of marijuana called cannabidiol, or “Charlotte’s Web,” a strain of marijuana with virtually no THC, the substance which “gets you high.” It is a true “medicine” that is being touted by epileptic believers as a new miracle source of relief. (You can read that blog here: https://fallingdownfunny.com/2014/01/28/give-us-our-medicine/.) I received many emails from people who told me that they would support legalization of medical marijuana but they want to see more research done. What these people clearly fail to appreciate is that current laws in the United States prohibit exactly that. As long as marijuana is a “schedule one” drug, research is next to impossible. And politicians know this fact...

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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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NO JOKE: FORCED STERILIZATION ONCE USED TO STOP “THE PROPAGATION” OF EPILEPTICS

Category: Uncategorized Comments: One comment

Lewis Reynolds is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served his country for thirty years, fighting in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. He has been married for 47 years and is 85 years old. He does not, however, have any children because he was forcibly and legally sterilized under Virginia’s Eugenical Sterilization Act (1).

Mr. Reynolds was not born epileptic. A rock hit him in the head when he was nine and he became a seizure patient. As a result, he was sterilized to stop “the propagation of their kind (2).” Sterilized, I might add, without his knowledge.

Virginia’s Eugenical Sterilization Act was passed in 1924, making it legal to forcibly sterilize any “mental defective” for the “the welfare of society (3).” The law was cemented in the famous “Buck v...

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IT’S HARDER ON US THAN IT IS ON YOU

Category: Uncategorized Comments: 3 comments

I was recently banned from posting on Reddit. I am not sure exactly what I did to get banned (although it was insinuated that my blog about “Breast Cancer Month” did not go down well with some people.) Bear in mind, this is a website that is fond of holocaust deniers, sexists and racists. But me? I am not allowed to post anything there anymore. Not even a comment on someone else’s thread. Not even a simple “Hey that was great.” My emails to moderators go unanswered.

My website still seems to be relatively popular on Reddit — for an epilepsy website. As you might expect, epilepsy is not a particularly “big market.” But if you go to r/epilepsy, “FallingDownFunny” is the website that gets the most attention. But that doesn’t seem to matter to the folks who run Reddit...

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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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SCREW “BREAST CANCER MONTH”

Category: Falling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizures Comments: 8 comments

Let me start by saying that breast cancer is a horrible disease and I feel badly for anyone who has it or gets it. I wrote that headline to get your attention. But I do have a reason for starting to turn on “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” and I know I am not alone.

I have epilepsy. I have been trying to promote epilepsy awareness for some time and it often feels like an uphill battle. Not only do people not really seem to care about epilepsy, but quite the opposite: many seem to have something against it.

I am not going to go into the recent story of Coach Jerry Kill, the University of Minnesota football coach who had a seizure during a game and was rewarded with calls for his removal...

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