The Village, a Novel, Help to Educate Schools and Communities on Epilepsy Awareness
Virginia Beach, VA (PRWEB) October 29, 2013 -- Author, Lowell G. Evans, has found a creative method to educate schools and the community on epilepsy awareness through his novel, The Village. Having epilepsy himself, Mr. Evans fashioned the fictional novel around working-class citizen, Kevin Bolden, who was diagnosed with epilepsy. Mr. Bolden, just like the millions people affected by epilepsy today, experienced a great deal of discrimination and taunting by peers and those who have no knowledge of the severity of the condition. After moving his family to a neighborhood called the Village, Mr. Bolden was able teach many of the children about epilepsy and they were able to go in their homes and educate their parents.
There are hundreds of thousands of children with epilepsy in the U.S. alone, and many of them face day-to-day struggles with coping with the fact that they have epilepsy, not to mention, how they are perceived in the public by peers when they have a seizure. As if dealing with the condition isn't enough strain, most children will admit that they are somewhat fearful of exposing themselves because they do not want to be looked at weirdly, or treated as though they have an infectious disease. Mr. Evans, a certified instructor for Epilepsy Awareness, has made it his mission to use The Village to reach these children affected with epilepsy and their peers, in hopes that the stigmas associated with epilepsy will dissolve, and bring about a change so that help, instead of hurt, can be provided in the event that a student has a seizure while in school.
Families all over the U.S. have given positive feedback on the effectiveness of The Village as a tool for epilepsy awareness and most recently, a Virginia Beach family, the Olivers, traveled from Virginia to Atlanta, GA, to the CNN headquarters station, to nominate Mr. Evans as a CNN hero. The Oliver's son, EJ, is a middle school student who feared returning back to school because of unwanted attention he received from peers regarding his epilepsy. Many children with medical conditions are often bullied and harassed by peers, because most peers do not know how to properly respond and accept others with unique differences. After sharing his personal story with EJ, Mr. Evans was able to encourage EJ to think positively about his condition, and to take over the conversation whenever people talk negatively about him having epilepsy, and turn the conversation into an opportunity to educate them on the condition.
To date, Mr. Evans has been a part of several epilepsy awareness movements, spoken at numerous schools, churches, and epilepsy support groups, and has appeared on television networks such as Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), to endorse the importance of epilepsy awareness. He is also a member of Middle Peninsula Epilepsy Support Group (MPESG) in Gloucester, VA.
If you would like more information on the topic of epilepsy awareness or to schedule an interview with Mr. Lowell G. Evans, please call Lloyd Irvin at 301-520-9260 or email thevillageiscoming(at)gmail(dot)com.
Lloyd Irvin, The Village - A Novel, +1 (301) 520-9260, [email protected]
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