March 26 is Purple Day, a day dedicated to epilepsy. Purple Day is celebrated worldwide to educate and spread awareness by wearing purple. I used to have epilepsy up until I was 11 years old, when I had successful brain surgery, so I make sure I wear a purple shirt to show my support.
While Purple Day was officially established in 2008, wearing purple just for fun has actually been around a long time. The color purple used to be reserved for rich and royal people exclusively because it was difficult and expensive to make at the time. Some well-known people in the Bible are mentioned wearing purple. David, Solomon, Mordecai, and Jesus are only some of the biblical figures who wear purple.
It is interesting how much purple has changed over the years. Nowadays, purple represents passion, creativity, imagination, and ambition. The idea that purple is between intense red and calming blue is the reasonable choice for epilepsy on Purple Day because you can go from having a seizure to being calm and fine.
The main reason Purple Day started was to debunk harmful myths about epilepsy and the stigma that comes with it. Purple Day got started by Cassidy Megan, a 9-year-old who had epilepsy. She came up with the idea because she wanted to tell the world about her own epilepsy and make others with it feel less alone in their lives. I hope she has achieved her goal.
I have met a few campers with epilepsy at Camp ASCCA over the years. The counselors, nurses, and staff are fully prepared and equipped to handle anyone who has a seizure while at Camp. The nurses are meticulously careful to give our medications correctly and on time. Just bring a bed rail guard if you use one at home. Don’t let fear of having a seizure stop you from going to Camp this summer!
If you do not have a history of seizures in your family, and you come across someone having a seizure somewhere, don’t panic. Instead, remember the 3 C’s in epilepsy: Calm, Comfort, and Call. Stay calm and ease them to the floor to keep them from falling, turn them on their side so they will not choke, and place something soft under their head to keep them comfortable. Take off their glasses and loosen any tight clothing around the neck. Then call for help if needed.
Do not hold them down or put anything in their mouth! Biting their tongues is a myth.
Epilepsy affects people differently. If possible, time the seizure and note when it starts and stops. Most last only 1-2 minutes. Keep them comfortable and stay with them until they are fully alert.
Now, you know what to do if someone has a seizure, which is one of the goals of Purple Day. I hope this makes you more informed. Purple Day is a good reminder to help spread the word about epilepsy and educate everyone on how it affects people.
