Christmas Newsletter December 2017
Goodness! We are at the end of another busy year and it only seems like yesterday that our year started out full of promise. This year has been really positive for Epilepsy Waikato Charitable Trust (EWCT) as we continue to ‘lead the way’ as the preferred epilepsy provider in the Waikato. That is not to say that our influence ends there, though, as our webpage won an international prize as being one of the top 50 Epilepsy Blogs/Webpage of 2017, in the world! Today many people gain information online and it is important that our webpage remains up-to-date and easily accessible. Our special thanks go to Antony, of Spindle Media, who is our web designer and webmaster.
You will also find interesting epilepsy articles put up daily on
our Facebook page.
We published our second children’s epilepsy book in March, and it was formally launched by Hamilton’s mayor, Andrew King. It is called “Ariana and Jack” and beautifully complements our first book “Ben’s Buddies”. Both books were written by Sharon Holt, a well-known New Zealand children’s author and they were selected to represent New Zealand in the Bologna and Frankfurt book fairs this year. You may wish to purchase your own copy by going on the shop page.
Our aim is always to improve the quality of life for those who have epilepsy living in the Waikato District Health Board region. To do this Maria (our epilepsy advisor) supports and advises people, directly and indirectly, affected by epilepsy. She also gives numerous epilepsy seminars to help break down the stigmas and prejudice around this very common condition.
We held a number of events this year which were well attended.
- We organised a “Living Confidently” course which was run over ten weeks.
- We attended a number of health expos in and around the Waikato region
- We held numerous social events including the Bloke’s group
- We awarded two “epilepsy hero” awards to Sharon Holt (our children’s author) and to Stu Robinson (our Fresca Café sponsor) at our mid-winter dinner event
- We walked in the Round-the-Bridges marathon and participated in a craft extravaganza
- We ran our annual trip to the Mount and Matakana Island
- We went to the zoo and many of our children attended parties and magic shows
In other words, we had fun, we met lots of new friends, and we supported one another.
The festive season is a busy time for most and a stressful time for some. For many people with epilepsy it is also a time when seizure triggers need to be carefully managed in order to help reduce the possibility of having seizures. If you have epilepsy please:
- Remember that many pharmacists and GPs go away on holiday at this time of year. Make sure that you have a good supply of your medication. You don’t want to go short!
- Remember to take your medications routinely. If you forget to take them then you are potentially vulnerable to having seizures.
- Get plenty of good sleep and learn to relax. There are only ~365 days until next Christmas!
- Go easy on the alcohol.
- Drinking copious amounts of caffeine may not be a good idea either.
- Keep your stress levels down, if that is possible, and enjoy the company of others.
- Remember to slip, slop, slap and keep out of the sun.
- Stay safe in whatever you are doing.
- Please keep these important telephone numbers close to hand. You may need them.
Emergency (Police, ambulance and fire) – 111
Healthline – 0800 611 116
Poisons centre – 0800 764 766
Waikato Hospital – (07) 839 8899
If you meet someone having a convulsive seizure over this festive season please do not panic.
- Make the person safe
- Do not put anything in his/her mouth
- Do not restrain him/her
- Please place something soft under his/her head
- Time the seizure
- Call the ambulance if seizure lasts more than 5 minutes
Most convulsive seizures are over in less than 5 minutes.
EWCT is an independent epilepsy provider, not affiliated to either Epilepsy New Zealand or the Epilepsy Foundation, and so we wish to thank our funders for their generous support.
