For roughly 14 years, Chris Arcenaux has suffered from epilepsy caused by a head injury he gained on the job.After undergoing a challenging procedure that finally alleviated his condition, he felt a calling to advocacy work. Today, he has used painting as a means to educate people on epilepsy, dispelling myths about the condition. His work has been compiled into an art book called The Epilepsy Shield Project:The First 120 Paintings, and its slated to appear in a number of book exhibits around
San Diego, CA – WEBWIRE – Friday, April 21, 2023
According to the World Health Organization, about 50 million people worldwide are diagnosed with epilepsy. And like many conditions of the brain, many people are still unaware of its various causes and how differently the condition impacts the lives of people who have it.
For Chris Arcenaux, epilepsy was an arduous 14-year experience that prompted him to tell his story through art. That is why he started The Epilepsy Shield Project, a large collection of art pieces compiled into a book that tells his story and expresses the experience.
Arcenaux developed epilepsy due to a brain injury he suffered while working in the dark. The accident created a lesion, which, in turn, created scar tissue that became the cause of his seizures. For roughly 14 years, he had consulted multiple doctors and tried various medication treatments that only seemed to have made his condition worse.
It was only until one epileptologist finally narrowed down the focal point of his seizures in his right temporal lobe that he could undergo a procedure to effectively address the cause. Today, he is effectively seizure-free and takes lower dosages of medication.
Since then, he had begun involving himself heavily with online support groups for epilepsy and live events. A friend on Facebook then suggested that he try creating an epilepsy awareness painting, which was the beginning of The Epilepsy Shield Project.
The book contains ten series, each with 12 paintings centered around a particular theme. Some of these include messages of support for people with the condition, while others dispel persistent myths about the condition. Its now set for display in a number of global book exhibits this year.
The Epilepsy Shield Project: The First 120 Paintings by Chris M. Arceneaux is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
The Epilepsy Shield Project: The First 120 Paintings
Author | Chris M. Arceneaux
Published date | Feb 9, 2022
Publisher | Gatekeeper Press
Genre | Health
Author Bio
After 15 years of having seizures, Chris had brain surgery removing scar tissue from his RTL and he has since become an epilepsy advocate online where someone suggested that he could try to use his artistic ability in his advocacy work leading him to design and paint The Shield of an Epilepsy Warrior painting completing it in April 2015 inspiring the name of the awareness project he started to help teach the public about epilepsy and fight myths about it that have been around for centuries.