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The Epilepsy Association approached me a little over a month ago and said, hey, we want to
<br />designate October as SUDEP Awareness Month, and we want your help in bringing as much
<br />awareness around this as possible. So, we had a Zoom meeting, and that night I was tossing and
<br />turning in bed because I just couldn't figure out the best way to tackle this, and so I got out of
<br />bed, went downstairs, fired up my computer, researched all the Council Presidents in Northeast
<br />Ohio, and sent them all an email past midnight, and to and behold, 23 different municipalities
<br />responded affirmatively, and so to date we have 23 communities who have either passed a
<br />Resolution, have issued a proclamation, or plan to do so very soon, and those communities are
<br />in no particular order: North Olmsted, Cleveland, Lakewood, Westlake, Cuyahoga County,
<br />Lorain County, Bay Village, Euclid, Parma, Parma Heights, Avon, Avon Lake, Mayfield Heights,
<br />Mayfield Village, Brunswick, Cleveland Heights, Wickliffe, Mentor, University Heights, Brook
<br />Park, Solon, and Elyria. That's 23 communities across four different counties, which is just
<br />amazing, and for those of you in the audience who don't know what SUDEP is, SUDEP is the
<br />Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. We are bringing awareness around it because sadly
<br />about seven out of ten doctors choose not to inform their patients about SUDEP because they
<br />don't want to, it's kind of taboo, they don't want to unnecessarily make them worry about
<br />something that might not happen. So we, on the other hand, believe, having lost a daughter to
<br />SUDEP, believe that it is every patient's right to know about the risk of SUDEP because there are
<br />a handful of things that you can do to mitigate the risk of it occurring, so hence our efforts for
<br />October.
<br />At this time, I'm going to step down in front of the table here. We've got some other
<br />Resolutions and proclamations that we've already received, but we are about to receive three
<br />more at this meeting, and we're going to start, I believe, with Mayor Jones, and she will read
<br />North Olmsted's, and then she will also read the City of Westlake's, and then we also have a
<br />special guest here, Cuyahoga County Councilmember Patrick Kelly, who is giving us a
<br />proclamation from the county, and Pat is special because he's alumni, he used to sit right up
<br />here with the rest of us. So at this point, I'm going to stop talking and let the Mayor talk.
<br />Mayor Jones:
<br />Joni and Devon, hello. Brenna was not only a resident of North Olmsted, and obviously Lou and
<br />Joni's daughter, but she held a special place in my family's heart, as she also used to babysit our
<br />children, and so this month especially reminds us all of what we need to continue to do to
<br />educate others and support families who are going through this. I won't read the entire
<br />proclamation, but I will read the beginning and the end.
<br />Whereas Ohio House 731 of the 134th General Assembly designates October 26th as Sudden
<br />Unexpected Death in Epilepsy Awareness Day, also known as Brenna's Law, in honor of Brenna
<br />Brossard of North Olmsted, who tragically passed away from SUDEP on January 30, 2022, and
<br />whereas Brenna was the cherished daughter of City Council President Lou Brossard and Joni
<br />Brossard, and her story continues to inspire efforts to raise awareness and promote education
<br />on epilepsy and SUDEP. Whereas the Epilepsy Association of Cleveland, working with the
<br />.1.0 07 25 Council Meeting Minutes Page 2
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