Tag Archives: epilepsy

A YOUNG jockey has told how she was inspired by a late Killaloe girl with special needs to resume riding in her memorial race, a few months after receiving her own Epilepsy diagnosis. Ali O’Brien (14) Tullaheady, Nenagh, was thrilled to win the Brianna Lynch Memorial Cup at the North Tipperary Foxhounds Point-to-Point at Lisboney, Nenagh recently. In November 2019, Brianna Lynch (9) died in her sleep from SUDEP – Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy – leaving her family devastated. Her mother, Arabella Scanlan, a well-known Killaloe horse trainer, provided Ali with one of her horses, Bridget, to ride in the memorial race for her daughter, a few weeks after the teenager had decided to get back on a horse following her own Epilepsy diagnosis in December 2021. Ali didn’t want to go back riding in December and January in the wake of her Epilepsy diagnosis. When her medication wasn’t working, Ali often wondered was this how Brianna, who was …

By Dan Danaher CHARLIE, the Great Dane who became an international hero after a story in last week’s Clare Champion, is to be honoured with a national award. The two-year-old gentle giant, who has captured the hearts and imagination of people around the world, for his ability to detect when a Killaloe toddler is going to have a seizure, will be officially recognised by the Irish Great Dane (IGD) Club at a ceremony in Dublin. The IGD club, which is affiliated to the Irish Kennel Club, will present Charlie with a national merit award in the National Show Centre, possibly next March. This is just one example of the phenomenal response to last week’s Clare Champion story where Arabella Scanlan outlined the dog’s ability to detect her daughter Brianna’s frequent seizures, up to 20 minutes before the start of each episode. Following a week of national and international headlines, Arabella told The Clare Champion she is overwhelmed with all the …

By Dan Danaher RE-ENACTMENTS of Brian Boru’s heroics against the Vikings are planned for Killaloe next year but a Great Dane has made a pre-emptive strike and stolen the hearts of a local family. Charlie, a two-year-old member of the much-loved dog breed, has become so attached to toddler Brianna Lynch, who suffers from epilepsy, that he has developed an uncanny ability to detect her frequent seizures, 20 minutes before the start of each episode. The giant dog simply adores Brianna and is very protective of her any time he senses she is about to have an epileptic fit. In fact, the family pet will pin the child to the wall and not leave her until someone comes to her aid. Her mother, Arabella, describes the dog’s sixth sense without any training as “amazing”. “Charlie is so sensitive to her needs; if the other dogs get boisterous, he will stand by her side to ensure she doesn’t get knocked over. …