This Father’s Day, we want to celebrate some of the amazing dads in the epilepsy community. Whether you’re a dad living with epilepsy, supporting a child with epilepsy, grieving the loss of a child to epilepsy, or facing the many other challenges this condition can bring, your strength, compassion and resilience do not go unnoticed.
This year, we’re celebrating some of our supporters who have gone the extra mile for their children and the epilepsy community. From cycling across the country, to creating an innovative app for people with epilepsy, we’ve got a range of superstars to celebrate!
Got an amazing dad too? Tell us about them this Father’s Day.
Ed
Ed created a poem for his daughter and the epilepsy community, after seeing his daughter struggle with the condition.
Ed and his family’s lives were turned upside down in 2023, when his 10-year-old daughter, Lyla, had her first seizure.
Since then, Ed and his family have put on fundraisers every Purple Day to support Epilepsy Action and raise awareness of epilepsy.
Lyla said: “I’m kind of glad it was me that got it. I know I’ve got a family to help me. I can’t imagine someone else, that doesn’t have a family having it and having to deal with it by themselves.”
This Purple Day, Ed created a poem about Lyla’s journey, which he shared with the Epilepsy Action community. Ed’s words hit hard and resonated with so many people. His openness, honesty and vulnerability in sharing his family’s experience is truly inspiring.
For this Father’s Day, Ed and his family are going camping, and Ed is also organising a walk through his local running group.
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Ashley
Ashley’s daughter Penelope will likely have seizures for the rest of her life. Determined to make a difference, the devoted father has created an app to help those with epilepsy.
Ashley’s daughter, Penelope, had her first seizure in his wife Lucy’s arms. Only a year old, Penelope stopped breathing, and Lucy had to start CPR.
Penelope lives with uncontrolled seizures, and these range from tonic-clonic to focal to absence. Her parents have been told that the best-case scenario is that Penelope will live with seizures for the rest of her life.
Despite all the family have been through, Penelope’s parents decided they wanted to give back and ensure that other families living with epilepsy have the support they need. The pair developed an app called MyPenelope, which helps families to keep track of their loved one’s epilepsy.
Sharing his story for Father’s Day, Ashley said: “When everything feels chaotic, being able to log what you are seeing — times, types, frequency, what happened before and after — gives you something solid. It gives you evidence when words fail.
“Logging Penny’s seizures is what we use My Penelope for most. It has helped us communicate clearly with her neurology team, especially when decisions need to be made between appointments.
“Epilepsy is now part of our life. It always will be. And we will walk every step of it with Penelope.”
Rich
Rich’s son Ralph lives with a rare and complex epilepsy. He’s taken on multiple marathons and running races to raise money for charity and awareness for epilepsy.
Rich’s family knows too well how much the condition can affect every aspect of someone’s life, as well as those around them.
This year, Rich ran the London marathon for his son, to fundraise for Epilepsy Action and raise awareness of the condition. Rich wants to ensure charities like Epilepsy Action are able to continue to provide vital support and education. He’s also previously completed an Ironman (2023) and the Barcelona marathon (2025).
So far, Rich has raised over £5000.
He said: “Running the marathon for my son and for others with epilepsy felt like I am able to contribute and support in a small way to help other kids and families living with epilepsy.
“Training, preparing and completing a marathon is a lot of work and effort and certainly not easy but I kept saying to myself that running isn’t hard, living with epilepsy is hard – so keep going!
“Anyone that has a child with epilepsy knows it can be difficult but you have to be flexible and supportive to those with the condition. Being a father of a boy with epilepsy can be tough but again it’s nothing compared to what the kids go through so we keep going and keep doing our best.
“I’ve been grateful to see the resilience my son has developed through having this condition and his strength has been an inspiration to me and the rest of our family.”
Mark
Mark cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise awareness of epilepsy and money for Epilepsy Action. As a father to a daughter with epilepsy, he’s passionate about improving public awareness of seizure first-aid.
Mark’s daughter, Alia, had her first seizure at just four years old. On some days, Alia can have over 100 seizures in a day.
Epilepsy affects Mark’s whole family. His youngest daughter, Iris, copes incredibly well and is classed as a young carer.
To mark Father’s Day, Mark shared more about his big fundraiser challenge. He said: “Everyday life is shaped by epilepsy – from checking where the nearest hospital is when travelling, to thinking about safety in the home or whether a particular activity is suitable.”
Last month, Mark and a friend, Tom, took on the mammoth challenge of cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats, to raise money for Epilepsy Action, and awareness for epilepsy. They raised over £2,300.
“I wanted to positively support a cause close to our family’s heart due to my daughter’s epilepsy.
“A huge part of this challenge has been the people we’ve met and the conversations we’ve had about why we’re doing this. From the very first night before we even started, we ended up sharing drinks with a couple who had epilepsy in their family and immediately wanted to support what we were doing – and that’s been a theme all the way along the route.”
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