As we were leaving the hospital yesterday with our daughter Awesome who has intractable epilepsy and who'd just undergone pre-surgery neuropsychological testing, we were waiting to turn left onto a main street that runs through our local state university. And as we were sitting there at the stop light, which is right across the street from the one of our Children's Hospital's parking decks, I saw two enormous (story-high) purple ribbons affixed to the front of one of the university's buildings. I pointed them out to my daughter.
Awesome, who is always noting how no one cares about epilepsy awareness or people with epilepsy, got very excited and started talking about how maybe someone actually knew and cared about epilepsy awareness.
I cautioned her that maybe the purple ribbons had been co-opted for another cause. But she said, "No Mama, November is Epilepsy Awareness Month. Purple's the color. I'm sure it's for Epilepsy Awareness."
I told her I'd bet anything that the ribbons weren't for epilepsy--but if they were, I was going to be very impressed. And then the light changed and as we turned left and could see the building closer and more clearly, there was a sign affixed on the building between the two ribbons that said.... Homelessness Awareness. We both laughed because this is a situation that happens over and over again and so, is so very predictable, if disappointing.
I've since checked, and November is indeed Youth Homelessness Awareness month and they do indeed utilize a purple ribbon. And according to what is posted online, our local state university is promoting Hunger and Homelessness Awareness this week--thus the purple ribbons!
I'm all for homelessness awareness; one of my older sons actually befriends and works with the homelessness in the city where he goes to grad school.
But it would also be nice to show a little love to our kids with epilepsy--especially because so many pass right by this display located right across from our local Children's Hospital where so many children and their families have appointments with their neurologists and epileptologists.
Since yesterday I've learned that the purple ribbon is used for awareness, not just for epilepsy and homelessness, but for animal abuse, Alzheimer's disease, domestic violence, lupus, sarcoidosis, cancer (of all kinds)--but especially pancreatic cancer & thyroid cancer, ADD, religious tolerance, and many, many, many other conditions and causes.
When so many causes share the purple ribbon and so many children are passing by a building so prominently displaying purple ribbons so close to a Children's Hospital, maybe there was an argument for letting those purple ribbons be more ambiguous? And to let kids think that maybe someone was thinking of them. Even if they weren't really.
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