{"id":6257,"date":"2025-10-03T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T05:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=6257"},"modified":"2025-10-08T21:34:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:34:23","slug":"all-my-son-wanted-was-his-prescription-the-next-day-he-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/03\/all-my-son-wanted-was-his-prescription-the-next-day-he-died\/","title":{"rendered":"All my son wanted was his prescription \u2013 the next day he died"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It all came crumbling down in 2021 (Picture: w8media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hopping out of the front passenger seat, I walked around the car to give my son, Charlie, a hug goodbye.<\/p>\n

It was June 26, 2021 and my husband, Richard, and I had just dropped him home. Charlie was looking forward to a relaxing night alone, eating takeaway and watching football.<\/p>\n

\u2018I love you,\u2019 I said. \u2018See you tomorrow for a Sunday roast?\u2019 He smiled, then walked off towards his flat.<\/p>\n

That was the last time I saw my son. Within just a few hours, Charlie was dead at 32.<\/p>\n

From a very early age, Charlie was always telling jokes and making people laugh. He was also a bit of a wind-up merchant to his four sisters, but we all loved him.<\/p>\n

At 14, he randomly started getting seizures<\/a>. He didn\u2019t actually tell anyone except one of his friends at the time because he loved playing rugby, water polo, and cycling and he thought seizures could jeopardise that.<\/p>\n

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The next morning, I messaged and called him but there was no reply (Picture: Henrietta Hastings)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then it happened one day when he was at home. His sister, Lily, found him on his bedroom floor and ran down to tell me.<\/p>\n

We called for an ambulance and he was taken to Barnet Hospital, which is when I was devastated to find out from him that it had been going on for months. Within days, he was diagnosed with epilepsy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Charlie tried at least 10 different types of medication to manage his condition, with little success. As a result, he\u2019d have seizures monthly or even weekly, which resulted in broken noses or teeth<\/a>, as well as split eyebrows and cheeks.<\/p>\n

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We all loved Charlie dearly (Picture: w8media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More often than not, they came on randomly, which I know felt very frustrating for him. But some things like hot weather, exercise, or stress could induce them too.<\/p>\n

Then he started on a breakthrough drug called Fycompa that changed everything, aged 30. The seizures slowed right down and never really came on unprovoked anymore.<\/p>\n

He was finally in a good place. But it all came crumbling down in 2021. <\/p>\n

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Charlie contacted his GP to arrange an emergency refill, but this was never issued (Picture: w8media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Thursday June 24, Charlie received a notification that one of his recent contacts tested positive for Covid-19 so he needed to self-isolate. The problem was, he had planned to travel back to Brunel University of London \u2013 where he was studying occupational therapy \u2013 on Friday, which was two hours away.<\/p>\n

He was going to the campus pharmacy to pick up his repeat prescription<\/a>, as he would run out of medication on Friday evening. But he could now no longer go due to travel restrictions.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Charlie contacted his GP to arrange an emergency refill, but this was never issued. By Friday, he had run out of medication and called me in a panic asking what to do.<\/p>\n

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Charlie was stressed and frightened (Picture: w8media)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Calming him down, I suggested he call 111 because I\u2019d received an urgent prescription from them before. Around 10:30am, he called and the operator told him they\u2019d send it to his local pharmacy, Superdrug.<\/p>\n

Nervous that he\u2019d be breaking Covid-19 rules about isolating<\/a>, he asked if I\u2019d come with him to pick it up. So Richard and I \u2013 as well as our grandchild, who we were babysitting at the time \u2013 got into a car and drove 20 minutes to meet him at the pharmacy.<\/p>\n

Richard and the baby stayed in the car, while I greeted Charlie, who was clearly already fed up with the whole situation. I went inside and was flatly told no prescription had been sent.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tFor Sarah\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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Sarah Whiteley was a Metro columnist and much-loved member of the team (Picture: Sarah Whiteley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Last year, on March 10, we lost our beloved colleague Sarah Whiteley. Sarah was a fantastic journalist; she was Metro<\/strong>\u2019s parenting columnist and a valued member of our first-person and opinion desk.<\/p>\n

Sarah died aged 39 from SUDEP – sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. It is thought that every year around 1,000 people die from causes related to epilepsy.<\/p>\n

With support from Sarah\u2019s family, Metro<\/strong> is fundraising for two very important charities: SUDEP Action<\/a> and Epilepsy Action<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sarah was so incredible at helping other people\u00a0share their experiences; she was a born storyteller and we hope to do her proud and raise money in her memory.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Charlie ended up calling 111 a further two times \u2013 around 11:30 and midday \u2013 and even had the 111 handler talk directly to the pharmacist, but they eventually told us there was probably \u2018some sort of supply issue\u2019<\/a> and that a clinician would need to call us back to see what they could do.<\/p>\n

By this point, Charlie was stressed and frightened. Desperate for an alternative to continuing a fruitless search, we went to Charlie\u2019s girlfriend\u2019s flat while she was away in Manchester that weekend to see if she had any spare medication.<\/p>\n

We found two expired 6mg pills, but Charlie\u2019s dosage had since increased to 8mg. He decided to try to make them last by taking one each night until he could get to a pharmacy when they opened again on Monday.<\/p>\n

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Charlie tried at least 10 different types of medication to manage his condition (Picture: Henrietta Hastings)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Charlie just wanted to go home to relax and calm down, even though I insisted that he should stay with us or I was happy to stay with him. That\u2019s when we drove him home and I hugged him for the last time. <\/p>\n

I actually spoke to him a few hours later after I called to check in on him. He told me that the London Ambulance Service had come back to him – a ‘comfort’ caller from 111<\/a>, not a doctor – but nothing came of it so he was just unwinding by watching football and ordering a takeaway.<\/p>\n

The next morning, I messaged and called him but there was no reply. I immediately knew something bad had happened.<\/p>\n

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