UQ staff and students were granted an audience with rugby league royalty last week in the name of epilepsy awareness.
Former Maroons and Brisbane Broncos captain Wally Lewis signed his newly published autobiography at UQ's St Lucia campus on March 25 in advance of World Purple Day.
Coordinated by UQ's Epilepsy Research Lab and the School of Biomedical Sciences, the event raised awareness and helped educate students about the neurological condition.
The former rugby player spoke about his experience with epilepsy, and encouraged students to learn more about the brain disorder.
"I experienced epilepsy first hand, and struggled with it for most of my life, before getting help from people around me," Mr Lewis said.
In 2007, he underwent brain surgery, in hopes to reduce or eliminate future seizures, and has since made a full recovery.
"Purple Day is a unique opportunity to create awareness and make life a bit easier for the people living with epilepsy," he said.
"I understand why people may be reluctant to disclose they have epilepsy. However no one should have to bear a burden like that alone. This is why Purple Day is so important."
In 2008, Purple Day was created by nine-year-old Cassidy Megan of Canada, and has since become a worldwide event.
With more than 400,000 people in Australia living with epilepsy, 86,000 of those being Queenslanders, UQ researchers and Epilepsy Queensland want to show the public people with epilepsy can live accomplished lives.
"Purple Day is a powerful step towards demystifying the disorder that has a profound effect on so many lives," Epilepsy Queensland CEO Helen Whitehead said.
"For some, the stigma and misconceptions associated with epilepsy are worse than the condition itself."
Epilepsy is the world's most common chronic brain disorder, characterised by recurrent and unprovoked seizures and can affect anyone at any age. There is currently no cure of the disorder; however seizures can often be eliminated through surgery.
UQ researchers are currently watching how the condition develops and are testing new treatments, specifically looking at high-fat ketogenic diets, which have shown to be extremely efficient in curbing seizures.
Media: Allison Rock at UQ Communications (allison.rock@uqconnect.edu.au)
