Welcome to My Sharon's Ride.Run.Walk. San Diego Fundraising Page!
Sharon's Ride.Run.Walk San Diego is a 15-mile Bike Ride or 5K Run/Walk that is very important to me. I am raising money to help The Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County so they can provide wraparound support services and programs at no cost to individuals and families affected by epilepsy. Please help me support this cause and spread awareness for epilepsy.
DID YOU KNOW?
- 1 in 10 people will have a seizure in their lifetime.
- 1 in 26 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy.
- 3.4 million people nationwide are affected by epilepsy.
- 50,000 San Diegans are living with epilepsy.
- Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder and affects people of all ages.
- Epilepsy means the same thing as "seizure disorders."
- Epilepsy is characterized by unpredictable seizures and can cause other health problems.
- Epilepsy is a spectrum condition with a wide range of seizure types and control varying from person-to-person.
- Public misunderstandings of epilepsy cause challenges that are often worse than the seizures.
Epilepsy is more than seizures. Every story matters in this fight. Here is my personal story of WHY this matters...
In 2019 my oldest daughter Reiko was diagnosed with epilepsy. As parent you never want to get a call that your child is in the back of an ambulance. This was the beginning of our journey.
It was like any other day. I was headed to a community luncheon when my phone rang. Reiko had suffered a major grand mal/tonic clonic seizure while away at college in San Francisco. She was in an ambulance headed to the ER. I felt like my feet were stuck in the mud and the world began to move in slow motion. I could not get to the airport fast enough. Over the next 2 years we would undergo what felt like a million doctor appointments, visits with specialists, while considering and sampling various treatment methods. During this time, one thought continually resonated over our heads - WHAT IF? What if she never drives again? What if she has a seizure while walking to class on the stone steps? What if the side effects from treatment are almost as bad as the seizures?
During this process while we were fine tuning her treatment plan she would experience more challenging times. Another frightening experience was when she suffered a seizure while running in Golden Gate Park. She fell on the pavement, (luckily did not hit her head or break any bones,) but was banged up, bit her tongue and luckily found by good Samaritans. Other days were working through challenging side effects of medications while working, studying and trying to live life as a "normal" college student. A silver lining through all of this - Reiko became more resilient and succeeded despite having a medical difference! She worked hard, studied abroad (much to Mom's nervousness) and graduated Summa Cum Laude
Fast forward to 2024, her seizures are now controlled and she has been seizure free for several years. We are very blessed as this is not the case for 2/3 of people with epilepsy. Our wish is that anyone affected by epilepsy is able to get the love, support and care they need, so we can all truly kick epilepsy to the curb!
