Jonathan Langille's Legacy

We, the family, are trying to continue Jon's gentle, caring nature by assisting some of his favourite causes while promoting awareness and eliminating stigma for those facing epilepsy.

Jonathan was always busy with something such as reading, acting, the Elks, singing, playing strategy games and music. When we moved back to Alberta in 2010 he joined a small, historic theatre in Bashaw - The Majestic, and quickly became involved with both the Annual Dinner Theatre and the Christmas presentations. He was at home on the stage and was always trying to lessen stage fright and make everyone laugh before the curtain rose. While we lived in Bashaw he joined the Elks becoming one of the youngest members in Canada. He always wore the Elks uniform when attending meetings even though he was told it was casual dress...he said he was so proud of it and he wanted to show his pride.  He also participated in Bashaw school plays and in the school band on both Baritone and Bass Guitar.

We moved to Edmonton in 2012 and he continued acting at Eastglen High School in another Majestic Theatre, he sang in the E-Town Minors and he joined teh Sherwood Park Elks.  We proudly watched him Graduate in June of 2013. This year he was attending his first year at King's University in Edmonton taking a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Psychology and a minor in Drama. He was planning on taking his Masters so he could become a Psychologist and help people with their problems.

This may sound like a typical young man but please read on as Jonathan had many restrictions due to Epilepsy. Jonathan had to deal with many things that most young men never had to think about though, like the drugs he had to take, the never ending trips to the hospital, the tests, the forced seizures, the anxiety of having a seizure in front of people, the intense fear after taking a seizure, the stigma of having epilepsy, the teasing from people who didn't understand and the physical effects of epilepsy. Also, he wore sunglasses a lot of the time as flashes from cameras could cause seizures. Imagine being at your high school graduation and having to wear sunglasses while worrying constantly about the flash photography all around you causing you to seizure, but he said often that he didn't want a fuss or anyone else to have to accomodate him.

Jon really disliked the effects of the drugs for his Epilepsy, he was intelligent and found the drugs made him "foggy" and much slower, but he always tried to maintain Honours marks. There were times that he was so drugged due to frequent seizures that he could barely function but he carried on. Due to his seizures he visited the hospital and doctors and was poked, prodded and tested and usually meds were changed and he got side effects, some worse than others. Epilepsy robbed him of the ability to get his license, being able to ski (due to frequent seizures and doctors orders) and eating out at some restaurants (due to MSG which causes seizures).  But Music and Acting were places he could be himself and he had no restrictions even though as a mother I was always worried about him taking a seizure from the lights, the cameras or even the stress.

Then there was the anxiety. This is something which is not well known by most people.  Most epileptics fear having seizures in the first place especially in front of people or in social situations.  The seizures themselves can bring about high levels of anxiety and fear which is a natural occurence in the brain simply triggered by the seizure itself. There is additional worry that they will get hurt or fall during the seizures which plays into the mix which the epileptic and their families live with everyday. People generally don't understand epilepsy and questions of being mentally challenged come up, thus leading to the stigma causing even more anxiety.

The physical effects of the epilepsy and drugs caused headaches after seizures, extreme fatigue and irritability, however Jon would not miss work even in the worst of conditions if he could help it. He would go to work with a positive attitude and do the best he could, even when he was exhausted and he was positive and friendly.

Jon was also different from most young men because he dressed in a top hat, sunglasses and suit coat or dress coat. He always portrayed a very dapper look to the outside world.  He was always there for people who were feeling low and helped to make them see that everything would be ok. People from Edmonton may have seen him around - he was hard to miss but is now so missed by many.

We have established Jonathan's Legacy as a Non-Profit Company and we are awaiting word on becoming a Registered Charity. Jonathan's Legacy has been set up to continue to turn this tragedy into positives for others.  

This year we are raising money to buy Musical instruments for Bashaw School as they rent them now and the Drama Program for Junior and Senior High Performances. This would help so many students get experience and enjoyment. We were once a single parent family, Jon would never have gotten the chance to experience playing instruments without School music programs at Bashaw School, and he enjoyed acting in the school drama program and even acted in the Bashaw School performance while he was in Grade 12 in Edmonton. 

We are also raising money for the Majestic Theatre Expansion in Bashaw. It is a historic theatre and is celebrating it's one hundred year anniversary in 2014.  It would be nice to be able to help financially with the expansion. Jon enjoyed so many hours in this theatre even after we had moved to Edmonton.  Jon last performed in the Dinner Theatre in 2013.

Lastly, we would like to raise money for Epilepsy awareness and eliminate stigmas and the bullying that accompanies it. These causes are the dearest to our hearts and in addition to supporting programs for both we have become advocates.

I hope you can donate to these worthy causes.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

[email redacted]


Thank you
Jan, Shawn and Katie

UPDATE:

We are having a Golf Tournament and Steak Lunch starting at 10AM September 20th, 2014 at the Bashaw Golf and Country Club.   Tickets must be purchased or reserved ahead of time to ensure we have enough steak lunches ordered .

There is an Auction at 4PM the same day.  There will be entertainment and Door prizes.

The online auction will run from 5AM  until 8PM September 20th and the highest bid onlline will be the lowest bid to start the silent auction on site.  
Check out the Online Auction here

There are many items which are not being included in the online auction and only can be bid on in person.

Hope to see everyone there!

Check us out on:

MyEvent - http://www.jonathanslegacy.myevent.com/
Twitter - @JonathansLegacy
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1376140292657616/
Email - [email redacted]
Auction - http://jonathanslegacy2014.eflea.ca/