My wife and I have recently relocated to the Grey County area, and have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. We love being involved in the community and to help make a difference where we believe something is missing.

I was diagnosed with epilepsy approximately 15 years ago. Unfortunately, over the last 5 years, my seizure disorder is uncontrolled. My current neurologist who specializes in seizure disorders and epilepsy is based out of Toronto Western Hospital. As anyone who lives in this area would understand, driving to Toronto for an appointment is not an easy task. However, in my opinion, it’s much harder to live with epilepsy or a seizure disorder and not have someone to connect or relate to.

We want to bring patients and families together throughout this illness. I, myself, don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for the loving support of my family.

As I mentioned earlier, we love to be involved within the community. We have supported and participated in the Alzheimer’s walk. That’s when we realized how caring and devoted our tight knit community is. We’re all out here wanting to help. In whatever fashion it may be.

Our long term goal would be to host an annual walk/run/bike for epilepsy awareness in the spring, summer, or fall months. Ultimately, what we need is support from the amazing people of Grey and Bruce county.

We have spoken with Southwestern Ontario Epilepsy Awareness (based out of London, ON), which is actually the closest support system we have. They hosted an epilepsy information night at Best Western 1 1/2 years ago, but there hasn’t been any indication of progressing further. Their answer was simply “funding”.

We, as a non-profit organization would like to set up an opportunity to have epilepsy awareness or epilepsy information days annually, and hopefully raise money for a great cause. I have spoken with a few local business would be willing to take part in an auction for their services. This alone will make an event like the one we have proposed more feasible.

The Alzheimer’s walk took place at Kelso Beach with a great turn out. The covered area gave room for people to grab refreshments and a bite to eat, and the amphitheater was ideal for speakers to present their case and raise money for an excellent cause. We hope to follow in their footsteps and create our own annual awareness day at Kelso Beach.

We are optimistic, encouraged, and ready to help make a difference in this area with some much needed support for epilepsy.

Alek Stewart
Grey County

source: Grey/Bruce Epilepsy Awareness Media Release