Twelve-year-old Maddison marked Purple Day last year with a PowerPoint presentation in front of her whole school, talking about her day-to-day life with epilepsy.
Maddison was diagnosed with generalised epilepsy in November 2024 and experiences absence seizures. She says having seizures can be exhausting for her.
Despite this, Maddison sees the positives. She said: “My epilepsy is a tiny bit of sparkles that shines brighter than the rest.
“One of the biggest things about being part of the epilepsy community is that I can just generally be me and no one can judge me for that.”
As part of various fundraising activities throughout the school, raising an incredible £1,424, she decided to speak to her schoolmates on 26 March 2025 and spread awareness about her condition.
She explained: “The highlight of my fundraising is that when I started talking, the kids started smiling which meant they understand it. I just loved telling facts to the kids.
“I encourage people to spread awareness about their own disability.”
Maddison encouraged questions from the children at her school, rewarding each question with a sticker. She said: “I loved all the questions. Some of them were hard, some of them were easy.”
Encouraging others to share about their epilepsy, she said: “To all the nervous people out there about to go on stage to spread awareness of their disability – just don’t be nervous. Be proud, be positive, be proud of who you are and spread awareness no matter what happens.
To fundraise and spread awareness like Maddison, order your Purple Pack.
Purple Day 2026
On 26 March, thousands of people will come together to raise money and awareness of epilepsy, and now is the perfect time for you to get involved too!