Indigo's story
Hospitals United for Sick Kids brings together a national alliance of hospitals for children, foundations and paediatric services to help sick kids on their journey home to the things they miss.
In May 2024, 11-year-old Indigo experienced her first seizure while sleeping in her parent’s bed and was taken by ambulance to hospital.
Indigo was admitted to John Hunter Children’s Hospital and was diagnosed with a focal onset seizure followed by a generalised tonic-clonic seizure.
Due to huge outpatient demand, unfortunately Indigo was unable to receive an electroencephalogram (EEG) during her stay in hospital.
An EEG is a test that records electrical signals within the brain, and can be used to diagnose several conditions, including epilepsy.
She was prescribed anti-seizure medication based on her symptoms and a family history of epilepsy.
Unfortunately, six weeks after her discharge from hospital, Indigo had another seizure. She had missed her medication the night before. The seizure lasted about 10 minutes, and she developed a severe headache afterwards. Her parents took her to hospital where she was given naval spray.
One month later, Indigo’s parents found her unresponsive on the bathroom floor. She was sitting up and her eyes were moving from left to right. This seizure lasted less than a minute, but Indigo was quite drowsy after and developed another headache.
Four months later in September 2024, Indigo finally had an EEG at John Hunter Children’s Hospital (JHCH), which revealed a different type of epilepsy.
Her medication was changed and thankfully, Indigo has not had any more seizures.
Indi’s Mum, Charmaine, is passionate about improving access to specialist services for children across NSW, including those with suspected epilepsy.
The JHCH Paediatric Unit would like to fund an additional EEG technician to reduce wait times and ensure more children receive treatment sooner.
This year, Hospitals United for Sick Kids (HUSK) campaign is raising funds for the John Hunter Children's Hospital.
“At times the wait for an EEG outpatient appointment can be weeks if not months. Funds raised from the 2025 HUSK campaign will support an additional EEG technician at John Hunter Children’s Hospital and ensure young patients are seen quicker," Said Matthew Frith, General Manager of John Hunter Children's Hospital.
“This is a vital service to quicker prognosis and treatment for children with epilepsy and other neurological conditions, and we are extremely thankful to HUSK and Coles for their support.”
Thank you to the Coles team members and customers for your incredible support.