Five-year-old Gracie Harrold, who suffers from severe drug resistant epilepsy, has been gifted a running buggy to enable her and her family to enjoy days out together.
‘Gracie enjoyed a normal quality of life until she was 3.5 years old,’ her mum Liz explained. ‘Then one night she went to bed and had her first seizure and our lives were turned upside down.’
Gracie was diagnosed with epilepsy, a common and serious neurological condition which affects the brain and nervous system. She has 3-4 seizures a day and can spend days in hospital. So far, trials of existing anti-epileptic drugs have failed to work, which means her seizures cannot yet be controlled. Her family are now hoping to get her into a specialist school that will be able to cater for her needs.
‘I was pregnant with our second child when Gracie’s seizures began. I have taken a sabbatical from my career until we can get Gracie into a more suitable school. Having two children makes it very difficult to get out of the house!
‘We have always been a very active family and running is a huge part of our lives, especially our local parkrun. Since the onset of Gracie’s epilepsy we have not been able to attend parkrun and we have all really missed it. Epilepsy has turned our lives upside down and having this buggy has allowed us to slowly rebuild.
‘We were over the moon when we were told our application had been approved for the double running buggy. The difference it has already made to our quality of life has been amazing. Gracie loves it and the additional seat means there’s space for her little brother Fin so we can all go out together as a family. It has lifted our spirits and we are forever grateful to Simon’s Heroes.’
Author: C Abbott.
