Four-year-old Daisy Scott has been given an Epilepsy Star award for her incredible bravery and quick-thinking in the crucial moments when her mum, Michelle, has a seizure. Daisy’s dad, Kevin, nominated her for an Epilepsy Star award. Kevin shares their story.
“We have an Alexa smart speaker and in an emergency, Daisy knows to ask Alexa to ‘call Daddy’ and it will connect to my mobile so I can talk to her directly. Once when I was at work, Daisy called me through Alexa and I could tell that Michelle wasn’t well from what Daisy told me. She was so calm and explained that Mummy was on the floor and was shaking. I asked her to move any objects that may hurt Mummy and told her that Grandpa would come to the house soon and so she would need to unlock the door. Daisy went to unlock the front door calmly and waited for Grandpa to arrive.”
“Another time, after our second child, Rosie, had been born, I was with Michelle when she was having a seizure and Daisy made sure to stay with her sister. She rocked Rosie in her basket and looked after her so that she didn’t get upset.”
“Initially, Michelle was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in late 2011 and for the first four years, Michelle’s MS was managed very well. However in 2016, just four months before our wedding day, Michelle had her first seizure in the night and was then diagnosed with epilepsy.”
“Prior to trying for a baby, we had to adjust all the MS and epilepsy medication to ensure the safety of our baby. This took a lot of planning and was a worrying time but luckily Michelle went through the pregnancy without any complications and was also seizure-free.”
“When Daisy turned one and started nursery, Michelle returned to work part-time for the NHS. Unfortunately, returning to work alongside the emotions of our little girl starting nursery was too much and Michelle had her first daytime seizure. This was a huge shock for all the family. Michelle needed hospital treatment to break her from the seizure and she nearly missed Daisy’s first birthday party.”
“After this seizure, Michelle started to have regular appointments with the epilepsy specialists at Addenbrookes and a medication plan was put in place.”
“Two years later when we were camping, Michelle had another daytime seizure and was hospitalised. Michelle and the specialists agreed that her seizures were brought on by tiredness, stress and anxiety.”
“When Michelle was pregnant with our second child, she started having bi-monthly seizures. As you can imagine, this was an incredibly stressful time because of the fear that the seizures may harm the baby. Michelle’s anti-seizure medication was increased which naturally worried us too. Even though Michelle suffered a lot during this time, our healthy girl, Rosie, was born.”
“Daisy has seen her fair share and that is the reality of the condition. The more people know about life with epilepsy, the better families will be able to cope. We’ve bought some children’s books about epilepsy to help explain the condition to Daisy and so she knows what to look out for. Daisy was three years old the first time she saw her mum have a seizure and so we spent a lot of time explaining why Mummy sometimes has to go to the hospital to make her better.”
“The Epilepsy Action website has given us so much information and has allowed us to research the different medications to put forward to Michelle’s specialists to consider. Local Talk and Support groups have also been a welcome relief as they’ve given us the opportunity to speak to families that have experienced the same as us. At first we didn’t know much about epilepsy but with the help of our hospital specialists, Epilepsy Action and the support groups, we started to understand a lot more.”
Michelle and Kevin are immensely proud of Daisy for her bravery. They said:
“She never runs away from situations which even a lot of adults would have, and always stays with Mummy and Rosie until there is someone to help. She has saved Mummy’s life on more than one occasion. We are so proud of her for being such a strong and brave little girl. Daisy, we love you to the stars and back.”
Rebekah Smith, Deputy Chief Executive at Epilepsy Action, said:
“Daisy has shown real bravery when faced with what can feel like a scary situation and it is clear that her actions have had a huge, positive impact on the family. We’re over the moon to be able to recognise Daisy by giving her this Epilepsy Star award of which she is really deserving.”
Want to nominate your epilepsy star?
Every month we reveal an epilepsy star – those people who are going above and beyond to support people with epilepsy. If you know someone who has done something amazing, you can nominate them for future monthly awards!