As of January 1, the Epilepsy Therapy Project and the Epilepsy Foundation merged and became one organization, the Epilepsy Foundation.\u00a0 The first board meeting of the new organization was held this past weekend in Miami.\u00a0 Jim and I flew down on Friday afternoon and participated in the tail end of the Anti-Epileptic Drug and Devices conference (AEDD).\u00a0 The board meeting was Saturday.\u00a0 All of the board members that were ETP board members were old friends, of course, and it was wonderful to see them again and catch up on their lives.\u00a0 It was also equally lovely to meet the board members that I didn\u2019t know\u2014those from the original Epilepsy Foundation.\u00a0 In a moment of insanity\/weakness, I agreed to become Secretary of the Board.\u00a0 (It really is impossible to say no to the CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation, Phil Gattone.\u00a0 It gives him a most unfair advantage.)<\/p>\n
The Epilepsy Foundation combines the missions of ETP (supporting research into promising new therapies for epilepsy) and the Epilepsy Foundation (improving the lives of people with epilepsy).<\/p>\n
The board meeting was both uplifting and sobering.\u00a0 Sobering because there is still such a lengthy journey to go before all those suffering from epilepsy can control their seizures without significant side effects.\u00a0 Uplifting because of all those folks, both on the EF board and otherwise, who are both passionate and dedicated in their mission to help those suffering from this debilitating disease.<\/p>\n