Happy Valentine's Day!

Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharingand forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfectionand makes allowances for human weaknesses.

Ann Landers

Valentine's

Day-

NotJust for Lovers...

Did you know that St. Valentine is not only the patron saint oflovers, but also the patron saint of epilepsy? The ancient Egyptians, Hindus, Aztecs and Incas, consideredit an affliction linked to the gods. Though there was never arationale behind why some were affected by it, the disorder waslong perceived as supernatural. Christianity maintainedthis perception and there are several references to epilepsy in theNew Testament. Medicine and religion have long been intertwined; however,medical practitioners were sometimes regarded skeptically inmedieval times causing people to seek spiritual intervention fortheir illnesses. Because many people believed their symptomswere the work of dark spiritual forces, it made sense for them tocombat their perceived tormenters with an antidote to evil in theform of saints—in particular patron saints—who were believed tohave restorative abilities for specific ailments. But how does Saint Valentine fit in? For one thing, there is aphonetic similarity in the German language between the words‘fallen’ (fall) and Valentine, and this led to epilepsy as beingreferred to as the ‘Saint Valentine’s illness.’

Stories about his cures would have spread far and wide, thusenhancing his reputation and increasing the number of thoseappealing to him for help with epilepsy. It was thought by somethat Valentinus himself may have had suffered from epilepsy.

In this way, he became the epilepsy’s patron saint.

The good news is, medical research and an increasing variety ofscientifically proven therapies have improved the lives ofmany people living with epilepsy, significantly diminishing theneed to turn to supernatural forces for respite! Is this great world ever in desperate need of love! Was it really 50years ago that Burt Bacharach and Hal David penned “What theWorld Needs Now (is love sweet love)” immortalized by Jackie deShannon? The sentiment remains truer today than ever. There isstill far too much conflict amongst us, and the need for love isgreater than ever. So, in the wake of this Valentine’s Day, when all the sugar-coated,floral-scented hype has passed, remember that Valentine’s Day isnot just for lovers. Today, medical research, an increasing varietyof scientifically proven therapies, and programs and eventsoffered by the BC Epilepsy Society are helping to raise awarenessand help people with epilepsy live to their fullest potential.

References:The Epilepsy Foundation, http://www.epilepsy.com/article/2015/2/valentines-day-not-just-loversBrain Injury Society of Toronto http://www.bist.ca/st-valentines-is-the-patron-saint-of-epilepsy/

An Italian stamp of 1988 shows a pictorial representation of an EEG and St. Valentine. St.Valentine was the first bishop of Temi in Umbria. Some of the mythology is not entirelyclear, but St. Valentine was probably a physician who was martyred by the Romans onFebruary 14, 273. He is patron saint of both lovers and epilepsy. There are also otherpatron saints of epilepsy. Legend has it that St. Valentine miraculously cured a youngfiancée, Serapia, afflicted with a mysterious illness, thought now to be epilepsy. Siteswhere St. Valentine was thought to have lived or visited became pilgrimage destinations forcure of the disorder. These destinations included Rome and Temi in Italy, Ruffach inFrance (where a hospital for epilepsy was later built), Poppel in Belgium, and Passau inGermany. Soon after Valentine’s death young lovers started making pilgrimages to Temi tobe blessed by the Bishop on the 14th hour of every month for eternal love.

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry: http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/74/1/9.full

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