Daughter of former Trustee runs the London Marathon in memory of her sister
Kristen passed away in 1999 at the age of 25 and was eight months pregnant
In April this year, Georgia Dandy ran the London Marathon in memory of her sister Kristen who died due to SUDEP. Kristen passed away in 1999 at the age of 25 and was eight months pregnant, having only just moved out of the family home with her partner.
Kristen’s death was not originally recognised as SUDEP at the time. Georgia said: “They put it down to natural causes, but obviously she had epilepsy. The health professionals knew this and what they deemed was that she had a seizure in her sleep.”
The Dandy family have a longstanding connection with SUDEP Action as both Georgia’s father and mother; Arthur and Pamela Dandy worked in raising awareness of epilepsy risks and SUDEP. Arthur was also a trustee of the charity in the early 2000s, though has since passed away.
Georgia was brought up with her parents raising awareness of epilepsy at various conferences and events. She said that her mum felt that SUDEP Action “were the only charity that helped, it was the only one that she felt that she resonated with.”
Pamela even paid for Georgia’s marathon place to run for SUDEP Action. Georgia said: “My mum reached out to SUDEP Action, she still follows them to this day. As soon as I said I was doing the marathon, she was on the phone.”
Georgia signed up for the London Marathon 2025 ballot with eight of her friends and was the only one to get a place in this year’s marathon event. Georgia said: “I didn’t know anybody who’d done it, so I didn’t know what I was signing up for at first.”
One training run led her past the area where her sister was buried. Georgia said: “I sat there for quite a bit. I took a picture, showed my mum and said: ‘This is why I’m doing it.’ And I think she had a bit of a cry.”
Georgia shared that the biggest boost came from people donating, whether that was from friends to past colleagues to an epilepsy consultant who heard about Georgia’s fundraising challenge. Georgia said: “I can’t let those people down…There is absolutely no way I can do that.”
Her friends and partner also came and surprised her to cheer her on at the 23 mile mark of the 26.2 mile course which was a great boost. Georgia said: “I really did enjoy it…you can’t explain as there’s so much going on and I love events anyway…in the photos, I’m still smiling…I was having the time of my life.”
When it comes to advice for anyone looking to fundraise through a running event, Georgia said: “I think stories are really, really important in terms of why you’re running, what is your why and people want to listen to that.”
Georgia also adds that you get so much more from taking part. She said: “Although it is about the running and the achievement and the fundraising there are so many other elements to it that you will find and you will learn so much about yourself.”
If you would like to raise vital funds for SUDEP Action through a running event, you can find a list here.
