[News] Article about football coach with epilepsy

[Nakamova]

"For Coach, Seizures Are Mere Distractions"
Great article about Jerry Kill, football coach at the University of Minneapolis

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/05/s...-seizures-are-mere-distractions.html?hpw&_r=0

 

[CQ:)]

Great article Nak.

There is a Aussie sports icon here in Australia called Wally Lewis who has epilepsy.
He used to play Rugby League in the 1970s & 1980s then was a coach in the 1980s - 1990s.
He was also a sports reporter, he had a partial seizure while broadcasting on air in 2006, it was then that he announced he had epilepsy.

He went on to have brain surgery in 2007 & from what I know he has been seizure free since. The hospital he had his surgery was at the same hospital where I had mine & done by the same neurosurgeon.

Epilepsy
During the nightly news broadcast of 16 November 2006, Lewis previewed the sports segment but was not onscreen when the program returned from the commercial break, with newsreader Bruce Paige instead presenting the sports segment. A similar event occurred two weeks later, on 30 November, when Lewis appeared onscreen and began to read the autocue, saying "Good evening" before seeming distressed. A scheduled report was then played, with Paige delivering the rest of the bulletin. Following these events, Lewis was given medical leave for the rest of the year. The following night, Lewis revealed that he suffered from epilepsy. Lewis has revealed in his book that his on-air disorientation was caused by the condition.
On 21 February 2007, Lewis underwent brain surgery to help his epilepsy at Austin Hospital in Melbourne. The surgery was reported as a success by Gavin Fabinyi, Director of Neurosurgery. He has since made a full recovery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Lewis

After I had my surgery I spoke to some of my relatives who live in the same state as Wally Lewis & they would say 'Wally Lewis also had brain surgery'. I would say 'yes I know, it was done by the same surgeon who did my surgery' :roflmao:.

 

[Nakamova]

That must have helped -- knowing that your surgeon had a few successful surgeries under his belt...

I think public figures can be powerful forces in epilepsy education, and it's great when they speak out. It's too bad there's still so much misunderstanding out there.