Epilepsy is a brain condition that causes repeated, unprovoked seizures due to sudden bursts of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Medication can prevent seizures but not cure the underlying condition.
Recalling Grace’s first epileptic seizure in March 2025, Lyndsey said it was “very scary”.
“She was actually posing in her World Book Day costume and I was trying to take a photo of her and then she wouldn’t look at me and then suddenly she’s staring off sideways,” she recalled.
Grace fell to the floor, said Lyndsey, and was taken to hospital.
“It took a long time for her to come back round and be able to speak to us and look at us,” she added.
Grace would go on to be diagnosed with epilepsy during the summer holidays.
Turning to the internet, Lyndsey was met with stories of delayed school starts, part-time timetables and children “missing out” following their diagnoses.
“I was worried that might be the case for Grace,” said Lyndsey.
“We were worried about her safety, about handing her over to a school.”
But when Lyndsey was able to meet with school leaders, their response, she said, was “amazing”.
Describing their approach as “proactive and holistic”, she said staff received epilepsy training sessions to which Lyndsey was invited so she could explain Grace’s seizures.