In September 2015, my dear brother John sadly passed away. He was only 42 years old. On the day of John's first anniversary, I received a call from the epilepsy society to confirm my application for the 2017 London marathon had been successful. This turned a very sad day into one of hope.

John was affected by epilepsy all of his life. He had his first seizure when he was 3 years old. By the time John was 7 years old, he was having up to 100 seizures a day. John was under the medical supervision of leading Professors from the UK and Germany who spent years trying to control John's seizures whilst ensuring John's quality of life. John also suffered episodes of status-epilepticus (constant state of convulsive epilepsy) and spent periods of time in the University Hospital Coventry, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London and the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. During these worrying times, family and friends from around the world came to visit John. Their love towards John and support to our family remains deep in our hearts. 

Medical support for people with epilepsy has advanced significantly since John was young. We were lucky with the support John received over the years but so much more needs to be done. Funding for more neurological research, raising awareness, training of care workers and outreach support is needed so that people with severe epilepsy can live a safe, happy and fulfilled life. 

John was loved by so many people and he had a huge amount of love to give in return. We were blessed to have John in our lives. We miss him terribly and he is never far from our thoughts. As a family we will continue to raise awareness and funds for epilepsy. Please help me raise funds for this important charity and in loving memory of our dear John.

Thank you x