The Story behind the Epilepsy Videos -- Why they mean so much to me!

When Laura and I started Fraser Valley Epilepsy Society in 1999, there was very little educational material available. We wanted to create a greater public awareness of how to properly manage a seizure and dispel existing myths about Epilepsy.

With a dream to make a commercial but no money to get started, we teamed up with the local community TV channel who volunteered their time and equipment. We used our own children in the first commercial as well as other kids who actually have epilepsy.

My son Justin is the boy who portrays the child having a seizure. He watched his brother Adam have hundreds of these seizures and needed no coaching on what one looked like. My daughter Shelby is also in the commercial and puts a coat under the head of the child having a seizure.

Video 1 - Playground convulsive seizure -- This commercial shows a child on a playground who has a seizure. Other children gather around and talk about what to do and what not to do during a seizure. Would you know what to do?

Video 2 - Classroom Absence Seizure -- This commercial shows a child in a classroom having an absence seizure. The teacher does not think she is paying attention!

Video 3 - Cafe Complex Partial Seizure -- This commercial shows a young man walking into a cafe. The girls think he is hot until he starts acting funny. A typical reaction by the public who does not know what a seizure can look like.

Summary
These commercials were a lot of fun and really helped the viewers understand more about Epilepsy. Laura went on to produce a total of 6 TV commercials. They have played thousands of times around the world and are now used by the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance as educational public service announcements.