THE sister of a man who died suddenly from epilepsy organised a challenge to fundraise for charity.
Prudhoe resident Vicki Robson, 44, came up with the idea to walk from Blaydon to Tynemouth and back to Prudhoe Riverside Park as a tribute to her youngest brother, Garry David Lathan, who died suddenly on January 30, 2006 aged just 21.
Garry died from SUDEP, known as a sudden and unexpected death in epilepsy, three months after Vicki's eldest son was born.
Vicki, a teaching assistant, said: "He was a gentle giant and had a heart of gold. He was over the moon he got to meet his nephew and he was really proud of that."
Vicki, her family and friends walked the 40-mile stretch on July 27 as a special way to mark Garry's upcoming 40th birthday and fundraise for the charity SUDEP Action.
It is the only UK charity working alongside those who have lost loved ones to an epilepsy-related death.
Lorraine Lathan, Garry and Vicki's mother said: "Vicki thought it would be nice to do something for his 40th birthday, which was really nice. Quite often epilepsy is swept under the carpet, not many people know what SUDEP is. It's just getting the information out there to make people more aware."
Garry, who was born on August 3 1984, was diagnosed with epilepsy after suffering seizures over several years.
Vicki said: "I think [SUDEP] is unrecognised and it's a charity which doesn't get recognised enough. There's probably a stigma attached to it and people don't understand the illness much so I think it's important to make people aware of it.
"He had his first seizure when he was 17 and it came as a bit of a shock, he'd never had any signs of that before. It was a whole year before he had his next one and then he was diagnosed with epilepsy and put on various medications.
"The last few months before he died, his seizures had changed pattern a little."
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Vicki said he 'didn't wake up that morning' on January 30. "My dad went in to find him. At the time we didn't know there was such a thing as SUDEP."
The 40-mile walk saw five of the family complete the whole walk, while friends and other family members joined along the way. They tied purple ribbons at every mile completed.
They all came together at Wylam Railway Bridge before celebrating Garry's life with a buffet and drinks at the Adam and Eve pub in Prudhoe, where Garry celebrated his last birthday.
"The total we've raised is £1,300 now," Vicki added.
SALTO UK supplied T-shirts worn by the group.
To donate, go to https://www.justgiving.com/page/.
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