A fundraising walk is taking place this weekend in memory of a Derry teenager.
Peter O'Hagan died suddenly at the age of 18 on May 13 of this year after being diagnosed with epilepsy in December 2019.
Peter and his dad planned to do a walk to raise funds for Epilepsy Action and to raise awareness of the seriousness of epilepsy. Unfortunately, Peter never got the chance.
His aunt, Margaret Doherty, has arranged for a fundraising walk to go ahead this Saturday, July 24, at 1pm leaving from Sainsbury's car park.
She said: "My nephew Peter, like any teenager wanted to live a normal life. He wanted to work and learn to drive but all of this was put on hold because of epilepsy.
"Epilepsy had a big impact on his work life and his day to day living. He battled on a daily basis with his seizures. Peter wasn’t able to get his seizures under control and this was very difficult for him to deal with and accept.
"As a family we want to raise awareness of epilepsy the different types of epilepsy. This is something that we never thought we would have to deal with it isn’t talked about enough."
Margaret highlighted that epilepsy is a common diagnosis that people are not aware of. She said: "Epilepsy affects around 600,000 people in the UK. This means that almost 1 in 100 people in the UK have epilepsy.
"Around 87 people are diagnosed with epilepsy in the UK every day."
Margaret has encouraged people in Derry to join the walk and help the family in this difficult time.
She said: "We, his family and his friends, are now walking in his memory. We are asking the people of Derry to come out and support us if they are able to.
"Everyone has been so supportive of the family over the last few weeks, our grief is still very raw but we feel it will help us in doing this for Peter."
Margaret has also set up a GoFundMe page for donations to Epilepsy Action.
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