THE mother of a popular Weymouth man who died after suffering an epileptic seizure is embracing the colour purple to raise funds in his memory.

Devoted husband and father Daniel Dench tragically died in his home on March 30 last year aged just 35.

At his inquest the coroner recorded a verdict of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

Since his death Daniel’s family have been raising funds in his memory to help raise awareness of SUDEP as well as Epilepsy Action and the British Heart Foundation and have amassed a staggering £16,236.

Now Daniel’s mother Sally will be marking ‘Purple Day’, the international epilepsy awareness day on Wednesday, March 26, by having her hair dyed.

There will also be purple cakes on sale at the H20 Hair Salon in Weymouth on the day and coffees to help raise as much as possible for SUDEP Action.

Sally said that she was keen to raise awareness of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and added that if all the fundraising efforts in Daniel’s memory helped save just one life it would be worth it. She said: “Thanking everyone for the fantastic support we have received as a family and the amazing fundraising in Dan’s memory just makes us feel very proud.

“My choice of SUDEP Action for my event is because we had never heard of SUDEP and, while death from SUDEP is rare, we had no idea that it was even a possibility that Dan could lose his life from it.

“We will never know if Dan would still be with us if we had had the information that we now have and we certainly don’t wish to scare people, but if by promoting SUDEP Action and Epilepsy Action saves the life of one person with epilepsy then it will be worth it.

“We would advise anyone with any concerns to contact SUDEP Action or Epilepsy Action for further advice on SUDEP.”

Purple Day, when Sally will be having her hair dyed, falls almost exactly a year after Daniel’s death. Mum Sally said the response to the fundraising efforts in her son’s memory have helped her realise just how highly thought of he was and has offered some comfort to the family over the last year.

To sponsor Sally in her fundraising efforts visit justgiving.com/Sallydench2

 

Preventing deaths

 

SUDEP Action works to prevent deaths from epilepsy. 
It is a reporting and support centre for all epilepsy deaths. 
The charity is the leading voluntary organisation in the UK and internationally on sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) and other epilepsy related deaths.
SUDEP Action works with leading experts to reduce unnecessary deaths from epilepsy through research education and awareness. 
There are five key strands to its work:
Providing information on SUDEP and risk in epilepsy;
Providing support to individuals who have been affected by an epilepsy related death;
Involving people to effect change;
Sponsoring research and education to prevent future deaths;
Capturing data through The Epilepsy Deaths Register.
Visit sudep.org or contact the support team by emailing <&bh"mailto:support@sudep.org">support@sudep.org<&eh>