Memorial fundraiser for tragic Samantha (From Bury Times)

Memorial fundraiser for tragic Samantha

6:10am Thursday 11th March 2010

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THE parents of a teenager who died when she suffered an epileptic fit and fell down the stairs have set up a fundraising appeal in her memory.

Mum Linda McGoff had never heard of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) until her daughter Samantha Ahearn collapsed at their Radcliffe home.

At an inquest into her daughter’s death, Mrs McGoff relived the tragic moment 19-year-old Samantha died in her arms the day before she was due to go on holiday with a friend.

Now Mrs McGoff and her husband Billy are hoping to prevent other families experiencing the devastation they have endured by raising awareness and funding research into the condition.

Mrs McGoff said: “We didn’t know you could die from epilepsy. If we had realised it is such a serious condition, if we had known it was deadly, we would have done everything in our power to see a neurologist sooner.”

Last Wednesday, Rochdale Coroner’s Court heard that Samantha, a Holy Cross College student, had only been diagnosed with epilepsy six months before she died.

She was due to fly to Tenerife for a holiday with a friend in July, 2009, and had been upstairs packing before she tumbled down the stairs.

Her parents rushed into the hallway of their home in Dumers Lane, Radcliffe, to help Samantha.

Mrs McGoff, said: “She felt as if she was due to have a fit and wanted to get it out of the way before she went on holiday because we were there. The fit seemed different to normal, there was no response from her, that’s how I know she died in my arms.”

Paramedics spent more than an hour trying to resuscitate Samantha to no avail.

Pathologist Dr Adegoke Oyegade said that Samantha had not suffered any injuries from the fall. The teenager had been in a car accident and suffered whiplash weeks before experiencing her first fit.

Coroner Simon Nelson said it was “difficult to ignore” the relationship between the collision and the fitting and ruled a verdict of SUDEP.

He said: “There is clearly a great deal to be learnt, not only by sufferers, but families who have to care for young people who have epilepsy.”

Around £2,900 has already been raised through donations and a charity auction is being held at Radcliffe Civic Suite on June 19.

Mr McGoff said: “There is nothing we can do for Sam now but if we can prevent one family having to go through what we are going through, that is all we can do.”

Mrs McGoff added: “Samantha had so many friends and was determined and driven, a very loving daughter.”

* To donate to the Sam Ahearn Appeal, visit: justgiving.com/samahearn * To contact the epilepsy bereavement support line: ring 01235 772852 or visit www.sudep.org.

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