Hello there! 

I'm fundraising for Epilepsy Action this Purple Day because they have been a lifeline to me and my 11 year old daughter Avery who was recently diagnosed with epilepsy after a seizure on Christmas Day 2022.

Epilepsy is not only what people see on the outside - the seizures - it is much more than that.

As a parent of a child with epilepsy, it is the grief for the changes happening in your child's life, the concern for their physical safety, the worry for their emotional and mental wellbeing, the anxiety over how they'll cope with their seizures, how having epilepsy will affect them as they navigate life and tread new territory of what having epilepsy means for them.

If I as the parent feel all of the above - one can only imagine the enormity of how it must feel for an 11 year old child who has been given the diagnosis and who has the seizures.

Epilepsy Action have been such a support to me and Avery.. I have been able to avail of their free counselling service which helped immensely at a time when we needed it most when Avery was first diagnosed with epilepsy. We felt overwhelmed about what Avery's diagnosis would mean for her and needed to know how best to support her.  To have someone to talk to, to listen to our fears and give support and information through the counselling service was invaluable. 

I have also been able to undertake their free online training to help me better understand epilepsy and how to keep Avery safe.

Avery also received a free kids pack which helped her to better understand her epilepsy diagnosis, her type of seizures and her treatment.

We are still in the early days of Avery's diagnosis and still navigating it all as best we can to get the right support and treatment in place for her. I can honestly say that the support and information we have received from Epilepsy Action has helped us so much with this.

So we as a family would like to give something back to Epilepsy Action for everything they have done for us.

On Purple Day (Sunday 26th March 2023) Avery wants to hike all the way up to the top of our beautiful Cavehill to raise awareness about epilepsy and raise vital funds for Epilepsy Action as our way of saying 'Thank You!'  💜

She will of course be wearing purple bits and bobs on the day.

We will tackle the mountain (epilepsy)  together...pause at the top to take in the scenery...reflect why we are there and how awesome our Avery is. 💜

If you can, we would really appreciate any donation to cheer our Avery on for her hike this Purple Day and empower her to own her epilepsy diagnosis and give something back to the charity that has helped our wee family.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story.

Lavinia & Avery 💜💜

To find out more about Purple Day and the work Epilepsy Action does, visit www.epilepsy.org.uk/purpleday