Tony Coelho
Anthony "Tony" Coelho is a former United States congressman from California, and primary author and sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act.... He is a former chairman, and current member of the Epilepsy Foundation's national board of directors. Coelho was born in rural Los Banos, California, to parents of Portuguese descent, attended public schools in nearby Dos Palos, and grew up working on his family’s dairy farm. At age 15, Coelho was injured in a pickup truck accident, which doctors later suggested was the precipitating event for the onset of his epilepsy. For years after the accident, Coelho did not know he had the illness. Coelho graduated with a B.A. from Loyola University of Los Angeles in 1964. At Loyola, he was initiated as a brother in Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity and a member of the prestigious Crimson Circle, and later was elected Student Body President during his senior year. After the Kennedy assassination, Coelho decided to become a priest. He went to a doctor for a medical exam, a prerequisite for entering into the seminary. The doctor informed him that he had epilepsy.
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