Mum, dad, my sister Samantha and I made up our family, until Sunday 16^th September 2007, when my sister’s sudden death destroyed our hearts and left a hole that could never be filled.

This is our story:

My sister and I grew up as siblings do, arguing, fighting and laughing, and in a happy home.  Samantha my sister was 3 years older than me, she was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 1 at age 5, and Epilepsy at age 8.

I remember only too well the seizures when I was little, were they a Diabetic seizure or an Epileptic? Did she need sugar this time…? I also remember thinking at times, how we had to rush around Samantha.  She may have had a fit, be going to hospital appointments etc. but sometimes I felt it was an annoyance….   An annoyance I truly wish I could have back.

Despite the doctors telling her she wouldn’t be able to conceive, I will never forget the day she called me to go round and showed me the half a dozen pregnancy tests that all confirmed her pregnancy. 

The family were ecstatic and she claimed her unborn child to be the
miracle given to her from our Nan who had passed away.

Samantha didn’t have an easy pregnancy, she was never going to with both Diabetes and Epilepsy, but she did make it to 38 weeks. 
Our mum and Samantha's partner went to hospital with her, when her baby, Joseph was due. Samantha had a massive epileptic fit during labour and we very nearly lost both her and Joseph she eventually had a c-section.

Joseph grew up and remained her miracle baby. When Joseph was just 5, Samantha had a seizure and he called the ambulance, Joseph was recognised locally by the media for his courage and bravery and had a very special trip to Maidstone Police Station, meeting people, the dogs and playing with the sirens.

One Sunday like any other Sunday I was cooking roast lamb for me, my partner and son Luke aged 10.  The phone rang, and that phone
call is when my life changed forever……  My mum had been looking after Joseph so Samantha could get some jobs done whilst her partner was at work.  Dad had called mum to say he had gone round there and he found her collapsed with the vacum cleaner going in her bathroom and she was non responsive. As mum had Joseph she rang me and asked if I could pop round there, I remember thinking “oh blimey dinner will be ruined”, I turned everything off and my partner, Luke and I went round expecting Samantha to have had a seizure.

When I arrived, I remember dad saying she’s gone, she’s gone, he had 999 on the phone.  My partner took the phone and was talked through resuscitation which he attempted, but it was too late, she had left us.  When the Ambulance crew arrived and they confirmed her to be dead at the scene, I remember hearing this bloodcurdling cry, I realised later that was me.

From that moment on, the phone calls to family, friends the arrangements, supporting her young son and my son Luke became a day by day numb process for us all.  Arranging a funeral, choosing the songs and wondering how we were going to continue as a family were big emotional struggles for us.

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) is the term used when a person with epilepsy dies without warning and where the post-mortem fails to establish any other cause of death.  Every year, roughly one in every thousand people with epilepsy will die suddenly with no obvious cause.

That’s why Charities like SUDEP Action are so important they are there to help support people who are going through the toughest of times, to provide information, sponsor research and involve people to help effect
change.

I am not just raising the all-important funds to support SUDEP Action but also raising awareness of a great cause that needs your help.

Please sponsor my wing walk in Memory of my big sister

Nichola