Danny Did Foundation

About Danny Did Foundation:

Founded by Chicagoans Mike and Mariann Stanton in January 2010 after the death of their four-year-old son Danny, the Danny Did Foundation works toward its mission to prevent deaths caused by seizures with these main goals in mind: advancing public awareness of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), enhancing the SUDEP communication model between medical professionals and families afflicted by seizures, and the mainstreaming of seizure detection and prediction devices that may assist in preventing seizure-related deaths. We view these devices as complimentary to medicinal, surgical and dietary measures that are used to treat seizures.

Epilepsy impacts nearly three million people in the United States and 65 million people worldwide. One in 26 Americans will develop epilepsy over their lifetime. Seizures can sometimes be fatal from a range of causes; more people die as a result of seizures than from fires and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) combined. Thousands of deaths occur annually from SUDEP, status epilepticus (prolonged seizures), and other seizure-related causes such as drowning and other accidents.

The name of the foundation comes from the last line of Danny's obituary, written by his dad: Please go and enjoy your life. Danny did. Danny’s example to all of us was that Danny Did take his time in life, Danny Did engage others in his life, and Danny Did enjoy his life. Danny Did, and we can –and will– through time, people, and passion succeed in our mission to prevent deaths caused by seizures. Thank you for your participation in that success, and for helping to prevent another death caused by a seizure.

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Danny’s Impact:

Danny Does continue to have an impact on this world long past his last breath. The Danny Did Foundation has received scores of emails and letters from people around the world who have been affected by Danny’s story.

From the Neal family, Ohio We wanted to take a moment to say thank you, again, for the Emfit monitor you gave us two and a half years ago. Why today? Our son just finished weaning off of his seizure medication today, and that monitor is a major reason why. We were able to say with confidence that he’d been seizure- free for two years, and we know if he ever has another one the monitor will alert us. I cannot express how much it has meant to us to be able to monitor his nighttime seizures in this way; to let him sleep in his own bed, to let me sleep without the anxiety of him having a undetected seizure. Thank you so much for all you do. We are forever grateful to you for making us aware of SUDEP and giving us the support we needed to make sure our son would not fall victim to it. I can’t imagine all your family has been through, but I hope it brings you some comfort to know how much good you have done in Danny’s name. We have given Danny Did SUDEP materials to our pediatric neurologist, the special needs preschool our son attends, and other parents who sought me out after their child had a seizure because we were never afraid to talk openly about his illness. The word is spreading and parents are taking action to protect their children, all because of how you chose to honor your son. From Jan, Illinois I commend The Danny Did Foundation for your tireless efforts to raise awareness of SUDEP. The impact you have had on educating parents, kids, organizations, hospitals, doctors, government agencies, etc. is nothing short of amazing. In addition, your generous donations have helped to save lives of those with epilepsy. Many parents can hopefully sleep a little better at night thanks to Danny Did. From Giovanna, New Jersey I don’t know how to thank you enough. I really hope this resource helps our daughter to feel a little bit more like a teenager. Maybe this will help to put a smile on her face more often. What a wonderful thing you are doing to help other people.

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Please visit us at www.dannydid.org to learn more. The Danny Did Foundation® PO Box 46576, Chicago, Illinois 60646 Danny Did Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit incorporated in the State of Illinois

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Thank you to Groupon for supporting November Epilepsy Awareness Month.