25 November 2006 -  Augusta, ME

     The Epilepsy Foundation is a national ,voluntary agency dedicated to assisting persons with epilepsy and their families. The Foundation operates a website at http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org  that includes links to various information on the diagnosis, treatment, and support of persons of all ages with epilepsy , the different signs and types of seizures, emergency protocol for police and first responders, and much more. The Foundation also operates a toll-free number at 1-800-332-1000.

When I, Leslie Collins,  was newly diagnosed, I searched the web for information and discovered a community hidden away where pearls of wisdom could be harvested. That community was and is the Foundation's e-support group entitled "E-Communities". I found fellow Mainers there with whom I could discuss many things. I found more information than any medical professional had ever given me or  had time to give me. I learned to recognize more signs and types of seizures in myself so that I could take better care of myself and work with my neurologist and other health care professionals to obtain better control of my seizures.

On October 8, 2006, one member of the on-line community from Portland, Browen Mead, asked in a topic post if Maine matters in the epilepsy community. Another member, Cathy C. of Naples, asked in response if the appropriate question might be if Maine cares about people with epilepsy at all.

We then asked each other what could we do for an activity during the month of November , which we learned from the Epilepsy Foundation is National Epilepsy Awareness Month. I suggested that we write to Governor Baldacci as November was also election month. We were joined by Wendy, also a Portland resident , in our letters requesting that the Governor declare November as Epilepsy Awareness Month in Maine by official Proclamation. Cathy C. handled the paperwork needed for an official proclamation from the Governor.

The day before Thanksgiving , I received an e-mail from Dan Cashman, Press Secretary to the Governor, stating that a true attested copy of the official proclamation was in the mail to me.

November 2006 has been proclaimed Epilepsy Awareness Month in the State of Maine by official Proclamation dated November 17, 2006 by the Honorable John Elias Baldacci, Governor of the State of Maine.

The text of the Proclamation appears below.

WHEREAS, epilepsy is a brain disorder in which clusters of nerve cells in the brain sometimes signal abnormally; and

WHEREAS, in epilepsy, the normal pattern of neuronal activity becomes disturbed, causing strange sensations, emotions and behavior, or sometimes convulsions, muscle spasms and loss of consciousness; and

WHEREAS, once epilepsy is diagnosed, it is important to begin treatment as soon as possible: and

WHEREAS, 80% of those diagnosed with epilepsy can control their seizures with modern medicines and surgical techniques; and

WHEREAS, while epilepsy cannot currently be cured, for some people it does eventually go away; and

WHEREAS, scientists are concluding studies to enhance treatment for epilepsy, prevent epilepsy or possibly predict seizures in advance of occurring; and

WHEREAS, the Epilepsy Foundation is the national voluntary agency solely dedicated to the welfare of the 2.7 million people with epilepsy in the U.S. and their families; and

WHEREAS, the Epilepsy Foundation recognizes the month of November as National Epilepsy Awareness Month to increase awareness of the disorder in an effort to encourage more Americans to understand the effects of epilepsy,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN E. BALDACCI, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the month of November, 2006 as

EPILEPSY AWARENESS MONTH

throughout the State of Maine, and urge all citizens to recognize this observance.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State of Maine to be hereunto affixed

GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this seventeenth day of November Two Thousand and Six.

- John E. Baldacci

Governor

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