"William was a 3rd year MChem student
at the University of York and had come home
for the Easter holidays when he died suddenly
and without warning in his sleep on 7th April
2011 aged 21. His family and friends are utterly
devastated. We have lost a loving son, brother
and our best friend and the world has lost
a gifted scientist. Although he didn't sit
his final exams, the University of York has
awarded William a posthumous BSc in chemistry
in recognition of his hard work and his potential.
William was an intelligent, generous, kind-hearted
young man and we will always be immensely
proud of him. His slightly eccentric traits
endeared him to everyone who met him and
it is a cruel irony that the chemical and
electrical make-up of his brain which gave
Will his unique personality would lead to
this untimely tragedy.
In his last few days, Will had spent his
time revising for his final exams, fixing
a neighbour's computer, playing computer
games and learning to play the ukulele he
had just bought to add to his collection
of musical instruments. At midnight I asked
him not to stay up too late playing computer
games. That was the last thing I said to
him. He usually slept in late and when his
father took up a coffee for him at lunchtime,
it was obvious that he had had a seizure
and passed away much earlier in the night.
It was a horror no parent should ever see.
Will had his first seizure at 18, one night
just before he went off to University. We
saw the doctor immediately and following
a normal MRI scan it was thought to be a
one-off incident caused by over-excitement
about the prospect of going to University.
After 16 months he had another seizure at
night and we discussed medication with the
consultant who advised us that the seizures
were so infrequent that in his opinion medication
was not necessary at that time. Will refused
to accept that he had epilepsy at all, or
that it was a serious and potentially life-threatening
condition. Neither did we really understand,
although the very rare possibility of SUDEP
(Sudden Unexpected Death from Epilepsy)
was mentioned at one meeting. Will had another
seizure about 10 months before be died but
the consultant still 'signed him off'. Will
took this to mean that he was 'cured' but
agreed that if he had one more seizure he
would start medication even though we all
knew there was no guarantee this would prevent
seizures in the future. The next seizure
resulted in his death.
William was a brilliant scientist so we
felt that Epilepsy Research UK was the right
charity to set up a Memorial Fund in his
name. The work of Epilepsy Research UK is
focused on researching into the causes and
treatment of epilepsy, with the aim of achieving
better understanding of the causes, identifying
new means to control the condition, improving
the treatment and quality of life of those
with epilepsy, and perhaps ultimately to
find a cure. It is the only national charity
dedicated to funding independent epilepsy
research.
You can donate to William's memorial fund
through this site using the link below,
or at www.justgiving.com
where you can leave a message.
Thank you for your support."
Imelda and Michael Kay, and Will's brother
Christopher, May 2011
Donate to the
William Kay Memorial Fund
Epilepsy Research UK would like to thank
Imelda and Michael Kay and family for their
involvement with us. Our memorial funds play an essential part
in funding the charity's research. This
year, they are supporting a project led
by Professor
Mark Richardson, which is exploring
the complex brain networks involved in temporal
lobe epilepsy.
