THE friends of an epileptic man who died while on away on a stag do will undertake a gruelling Olympic-distance triathlon to raise money for the charity which he volunteered for.
Diabetic Sean Leonard, 31, died in March last year while away in Berlin.
His friends Adam Guest, whose stag do it was, Ross Williams, Ryan Gillespie and Daniel Kaye will take part in a 1.5k swim, a 45k bike ride and a 10k run in Castle Howard on July 22.
Sean, of Gawber Road, was found collapsed on the floor of a Berlin hotel room by friends. Earlier in the day, he had complained of feeling unwell and had gone back to the hotel to lie down.
Adam, 35, of Kestrel Road, Wilthorpe, said: “Sean had these fits about once a month and when he did, he would go and lie down, sleep for a few hours and would then be back to normal.
“He had a fit and had gone back to the room to sleep. As horrible as it is to see, it is quite normal for us to see it. There were no second thoughts. We just let him have his space and when he was finished he’d always come around and was a bit drowsy.
“He went back to the hotel, we walked back with him. He went inside and we carried on. A few hours later we went back and found him. It was awful.
“A few of us were looking to do something for charity and it was a no brainer to do something for his charity and spread his name.”
Shortly before his death, Sean had a job interview with Epilepsy Action, a charity for which he had done lots of voluntary work, including giving talks about the condition. He had been due to host his first group session for people who have epilepsy and their families and friends.
It is this charity his friends are raising money for.
Adam said: “I’d known Sean about ten years, and he was a really nice person. He would talk to anyone and was always up for anything, especially if it was a party or going out.
“We’ve never done anything like this before. We’ve been hammering the training and I’ve lost two stones. We’ve had to put the effort in to actually physically do it.
“I’m a lot more confident than I was three months ago because I couldn’t even run 5k then.
“I’m a bit nervous. It’s going to be an emotional day and it’s just about getting over the finish line for us.”
So far, the group has raised £1,625.
To donate, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/remember/516808/Sean-Leonard
