Newswise — SAN DIEGO – Actor Kevin Sorbo is the recipient of the 2013 Public Leadership in Neurology Award from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Brain Foundation. Sorbo is being recognized for his herculean efforts in educating the public about stroke.
The Public Leadership in Neurology Award honors an individual or group outside of the medical profession. Honorees are known for advancing public understanding and awareness of neurologic disease, being effective advocates for neuroscience research, and making significant contributions to improve patient care. Sorbo will receive the award during the AAN and American Brain Foundation Awards Luncheon held on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, at the San Diego Convention Center as part of the AAN’s Annual Meeting, the world’s largest gathering of neurologists with more than 10,000 attendees.
Sorbo is perhaps most famous as television’s mighty Hercules in the popular television show “Hercules, the Legendary Journeys” from 1993 to 2000, and “Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda” from 2000 to 2005. However, Sorbo suffered a series of three strokes in 1997 at the end of Hercules’ fifth season.
In his recent inspiring memoir, True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life, Sorbo tells of his near-death experience and examines the dynamics of celebrity, personal tragedy, and the power of letting go.
“I am honored to be receiving this award. As with anything in life,” Sorbo acknowledges, “it takes a life-changing event to an individual, family member, or friend to make us sit up and take notice of something that we all know about, we all read about, but we just hang out on the fringe not really doing anything to help or support the cause. That was the case with me. Suffering my own strokes put me on a path I never dreamed would happen, but here I am: A stroke survivor. I wanted to bring stroke to the forefront of people’s minds that if a guy in his thirties, in great shape, can suffer a stroke, then it can happen to anyone. I wanted to inspire people.” Sorbo’s career has continued to flourish with appearances on such television fare as “Just Shoot Me,” “Two and a Half Men,” “According to Jim,” “Gary Unmarried,” “Don’t Talk to the B#@*& in Apartment 23,” “Hawaii 5-0,” “Hope & Faith,” and “Psych,” with recurring characters appearing on “Dharma & Greg” and “The OC”.
His recent film appearances include Meet the Spartans (2008), Prairie Fever (2008), What If (2010), Soul Surfer (2011), Julia X (2013), Avenging Angel (2008), Christmas Angel (2012), The Santa Suit (2010), and Abel’s Field (2013). Sorbo also leads A World Fit for Kids, a successful mentoring program that trains inner-city teens to become positive school, fitness, and sports role models, and uses these teens to mentor younger children. In 1997, the program received the Governor’s Gold Star for California’s most successful after-school program. In 2003, Sorbo succeeded Arnold Schwarzenegger as national spokesperson for the Afterschool Alliance, a non-profit organization working to ensure that all children have access to safe, enriching afterschool programs.
Sorbo hails from the Twin Cities area in Minnesota, where the American Academy of Neurology is headquartered.
Learn more about stroke at www.aan.com/patients.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 25,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.
The American Brain Foundation, the foundation of the American Academy of Neurology, supports vital research and education to discover causes, improved treatments, and cures for brain and other nervous system diseases. Learn more at http://www.curebraindisease.org or find the Foundation on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.
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