hi there welcome to the kids crew show I'm Professor Sarabell and I consider
myself a bit of an expert on - you guessed it - the brain - helps when you are a brain
everyone has one - your brain helps you think see feel move basically do everything
sometimes the brain doesn't always work exactly as it should which
means that some people have what are called neurological disorders or brain
illness one type of brain illness is called epilepsy it can be tough having a problem
like this but it's important to remember something you're not alone and
what's great is that there's even a club for kids with epilepsy and their
brothers sisters and friends here's a member now
hi my name is Will and I live in Indiana I am nine years old and I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was five
I love playing basketball and learning about history I also like playing card games
with my family having epilepsy is hard but I've got to know other people
with epilepsy so I know that I'm not alone
after getting diagnosed with epilepsy my family and I started doing activities
that allow others to learn about seizures and epilepsy which is pretty cool
when the doctors first told me that I had epilepsy I didn't know anything
about it but with the help of my doctors my family and the kids crew now I know
a lot more here's what I learned
epilepsy is a medical condition having epilepsy
means that you sometimes have seizures seizures start in the brain hey that's you
your brain is the control center of your body it's made up of different
parts that control all the different things that you do like thinking feeling
seeing speaking and moving inside your brain there are millions of tiny cells
called neurons - neurons talk with each other by sending tiny electrical signals
your brain connects to the rest of your body through your nervous system
this is a network of neurons that extends all over your body - when you move
your leg an electrical signal travels from your brain through your nervous
system and down to the muscles in your leg the signal tells the muscles to move
and so your leg moves yeah and if you have epilepsy you'll sometimes have seizures
a seizure is when there is a sudden burst of electrical activity in
your brain during a seizure the signals get a bit mixed up and send
mixed messages - the mixed-up messages might make you fall to the ground or
have muscle jerks or twitches or you might stare into space for a while as if
you are daydreaming or you might have a strange smell or taste - right anything
the brain can do it can do as a seizure and each thing that could happen like
falling to the ground or staring into space is called a different type of
seizure - you might have only one type of seizure or you might have different
types at different times epilepsy can happen to anyone it is a common
condition - one in ten people will have a seizure at some point in their lives
many children all over the world are living with epilepsy including almost
half a million kids in the United States about 3 million adults in the United
States have epilepsy - anyone with a brain can have epilepsy and anyone with
a brain can affect epilepsy that means no matter who you are you can do
something to help people who have seizures that's why kids career was
created because kids can change the world the kids crew was set up so that
kids can get involved in three areas teaching more people about epilepsy
sharing your stories to help others understand what it's like to have
epilepsy getting involved in local events like walks Lemonade for Livy and
the purple pumpkin project kids crew is for all kids ages 14 and under and you
don't have to have epilepsy kids like Will's sister Charlotte and other sisters
brothers and friends of kids with epilepsy love to get involved too helping
us teach others about epilepsy and spread awareness they also want to join
because being part of kids crew is so much fun when you first join you get a
membership kit that includes a certificate kids crew pin
lanyard and membership card every month you get an email with news and every
three months you get a newsletter in the mail being part of Kids crew means you
get to learn so much more about epilepsy and then help others understand too you
can earn a themed pin when you finish an activity like creating epilepsy
awareness educating your class about epilepsy and what it means to you
sharing your story through a video performing an act of kindness for
someone with epilepsy or who is taking care of someone with epilepsy attending
an Epilepsy Foundation walk painting your pumpkins purple for the purple
pumpkin project holding a lemonade stand for Lemonade for Livy lots of kids in
the US are involved with kids crew let's see what other kids and the kids crew
are up to across the country here's Jameson from California he loves
the kids crew because it makes him feel included in an important cause oh and
here's Olivia from North Dakota she is in kids crew and enjoys raising money to
support people in the epilepsy community by doing things like holding lemonade
stands and here is Tatum in Ohio she thinks being in the kids crew is
important because she likes being able to help people understand what epilepsy
is and make sure that people with epilepsy know they're not alone you can
join the kids cure and make a difference too joining the kids crew is easy and
free have a parent or legal guardian complete the online registration form at
epilepsy dot com slash kids - crew your parent can also download a paper
registration form at epilepsy dot com slash kids - crew after they fill it out they
can scan and email it to us at kids-crew at EFA dot org or mail it back to us at
Epilepsy Foundation - Kids Crew 8301 Professional Place West number 230
Landover Maryland 20785
remember kids can change the world so don't wait get started today