Mr. President, I wish to speak for 5 minutes on Epilepsy Awareness Month. If the matter for which Senator Wicker is waiting comes to the floor, I will interrupt my speech immediately so I don't slow down his business at all. I know he has been waiting here for a while, but as long as we were in a quorum call, I will speak in recognition of November as Epilepsy Awareness Month. Epilepsy is a chronic, debilitating condition that can produce violent, unpredictable seizures. It can be caused by traumatic events such as strokes, tumors, or brain injuries, but for a lot of patients the cause remains unknown. It is no easy thing to live with epilepsy. Yet millions of Americans do so every day, including an estimated 10,000 Rhode Islanders. They include Sawyer, a 12-year-old Warwick resident who recently started seventh grade. I think we all remember what it was like to be a young person in school. I am sure we all know someone who for one reason or another was labeled as different and had a harder time than most. Well, imagine how hard it must be to navigate that world while also struggling with the daily symptoms of epilepsy. It takes a brave person to confront that challenge head-on, and I think we can all admire Sawyer's courage every day as he goes to school and pursues his education amid challenging circumstances.…
On the recordNovember 18, 2015
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