My Story

I am taking part in the 2024 Great North Run as part of Epilepsy Society's Team Purple for my daughter Meghan who has Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of Epilepsy

Any donation you can give will help them to continue their incredible work and will spur me on throughout my training!

Moo's Story

At the age of just 8 months Meghan had, what doctors believed to be, a febrile convulsion. This occurs when babies are unable to regulate their temperature and have a seizure due to overheating. Having never experienced anything like this before with my 2 older children I ran out of the house with Meghan in my arms shouting ‘Help’ to passers by. That was the first moment that I thought I would loose my daughter.

The seizures continued which led to many visits to the hospital. Meghan had various tests, brain scans and blood taken on many,many occasions until she was finally referred to the Epilepsy Department.

At 18 months old she began taking medication twice a day. On the positive side this changed the length and intensity of her seizures with them becoming less violent, but on the other side, as with all medicines, there were side effects. Meghan suffered from stomach cramps and continues to this day to be ever thirsty.

As Meghan grows her medication increases and now at the age of of 14 she is able to communicate how she feels but the age has produced new issues to overcome. Epilepsy is like someone has pressed the 'pause’ for a little while, as the last thing that Meghan was doing before the seizure occurred is the first thing that she mentions when she comes around!

The family have learned to live with Meghan’s condition too, especially her twin brother who takes it upon himself to look after her during a seizure and immediately watches the time, as fits that last over 5 minutes require giving her rescue meds or trip to the hospital. We don’t panic and we certainly don’t treat Meghan any differently to the other children as there could be the tendency to wrap her in cotton wool!

Everyone who knows and loves Meghan is very understanding of her condition. The support that we have received throughout Meghan’s life and the over 600 seizures she’s had to date cannot be measured or praised enough.

Every single seizure has been different and they can occur at any moment, in any situation and at any location. The one consistent factor is the Epilepsy Society. This is why I will run the 2024 Great North Run as appreciation for all that the Epilepsy Society do for us and thousands of other families in our situation.

Thank you for helping me to do this for my daughter.

 

Thank you so much for your support!