Epilepsy Awareness Walk this Sunday

TAYLOR WEAVER WRITER

It’s time to sport that picture-perfect purple and go for a walk around Bud Miller All Seasons Park for Lloyd’s third annual Epilepsy Awareness Walk.

Held this Sunday in conjunction with National Epilepsy Awareness Day, the annual walk is geared towards raising awareness of the deadly brain disorder, while also honouring the memory of Lloydminster native, Shauna Hurley, who passed away on Oct. 27, 2020, at age 23.

The walk was originally started three years ago by Shauna’s mom, Tina, with some familial support from her dad, Shawn, and brother, Joey.

Living through the loss of one’s child is something the Hurleys don’t wish upon anyone, which is one of the reasons they continue to organize awareness walks.

“This is a serious condition and I think it’s been put under the rug for a long time and played off as if it weren’t a serious condition, but it is,” said Tina.

“The walk is to raise awareness of epilepsy, which is a brain disease and condition, and we need everyone to know this is something we can support others as they go through it.”

Shauna passed away from what is known as SUDEP (sudden, unexpected death of someone with epilepsy), something only one in 1,000 people lose their lives from.

After the success of last year’s walk, Hurley noted she’s hoping for an even bigger crowd this time around.

“I’m hoping we’ll have over 100 people this year,” she said.

“I did branch out more this year and shared more stuff on social media as well as with city council; they’re going to try to make it an official day in Lloyd in the future, as it would be in bigger centres like Edmonton, Saskatoon or Regina.”

Hurley also explained larger cities light up legislative buildings etc. with the colour purple to show support, something she would love to see in Lloydminster.

“In Edmonton, they light up the bridge, in Toronto, they light up the CN Tower and in Calgary, they light up the Calgary Tower, so there’s a lot more awareness out there now, which is amazing,” she said.

With this being an awareness walk, Hurley explained pledges aren’t necessary, but epilepsy awareness toques will be on sale at the walk for $25, with proceeds supporting the cause.

There will, however, be a box for donations at the event if walkers feel inclined to do so.

“Once again, I also reached out to some of the places Shauna worked at over the years and they were very supportive and made some donations,” said Hurley.

“So, we’re going to do draws at the end of the evening, which is nice.”

The Hurleys welcome anyone interested in walking to join them at the PWM Building at Bud Miller on Sunday evening.

Registration for the walk takes place between 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. and pre-walk pre - sentations will kick off after.

“We’ll be talking about epilepsy, what happened with Shauna, why we’re doing the walk, as well as SUDEP,” said Tina.

“The walk will get started around 7:30 p.m. and we encourage everyone to join.”