SPRING HILL Richard Davis remembers what life was like before Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.
My first thought at a new job was, Are you going to fire me? said Davis.
Some did. He was even deemed ineligible to attend college in those days, not for any academic reason, Davis said, but because the college told him they were not trained or equipped to treat a person in the midst of an epileptic seizure.
Today, Davis, 51, uses art to inform the general public about epilepsy. His paintings were awarded first second and third place at this years Florida State Fair.
Davis has had epilepsy since he was hit by a car at the age of 9.
The bad seizures started when I was 13, and theyve been like an off and on thing, he said.
Davis conveys the damage seizures cause to an individual and the mind through artistic representation, portrayed through Daviss book, The Unpredictable, and his paintings that serve as a catharsis to the pain, depression, anxiety, reduced vitality, and insufficient sleep he experiences during treatment.
The association between epilepsy and depression is especially strong with more than one of every three epileptic people being affected by the mood disorder, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. People with a history of depression are three to seven times more likely to develop epilepsy, the foundation reports.
Although these mood disorders are a symptom of epilepsy, as they are also with arthritis, heart problems, diabetes and cancer, it was not epilepsy that caused Davis most recent disturbance, he said.
I went to the hospital last April because of swelling of the foot, and when they ran tests they found that I had a major blood clot in my left foot, and had to stay in the hospital for a week for them to inject thinner for the blood for the next nine months, Davis said. While there they ran tests in the chest, stomach, and pelvis to make sure there were no other clots.
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Spring Hill painter uses art to promote epilepsy education