A ten-year-old primary six pupil at Skene Square School completed a 200-kilometre on Friday 25 March run to raise £2000 for charity Epilepsy Scotland, despite being affected by the condition himself.
Alfie Reaper, who was first diagnosed as having epilepsy after the second of two seizures in 2020 when he was only eight years old, completed his month-long challenge this afternoon in the city’s Westburn Park accompanied by his classmates on the last stage of his run which he has undertaken with his mum.
Alfie and his classmates have also encouraged other pupils at the school to wear purple today to raise awareness of epilepsy and he delivered a whole school assembly this morning, where he will told his story and share the care required should anyone be present when someone has a seizure.
Alfie was a keen footballer until the formal diagnosis of his condition put an end to his participation in the sport he loves because of concerns about him having a seizure on the pitch. This was the beginning of a very challenging time for Alfie and his family, but Alfie has taken the huge learning curve in his stride and by refusing to be defined by a label of epilepsy and the stigmas attached he has taken on the challenge to raise awareness on the condition.
Alfie wrote to the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Barney Crockett, who has agreed to light up Marischal College to mark National Epilepsy Day and to raise awareness across the wider community.
The Lord Provost said: “I was delighted to be able to help Alfie, his family and classmates by having Marischal College lit up to commemorate a very important day in the efforts to raise awareness of epilepsy.
“This is a tremendous achievement by Alfie who has shown enormous courage and determination to help others by completing such a demanding challenge. My warmest congratulations go out to him and his family as well as to everyone at Skene School who have supported him so wonderfully.”