Matt Schmidlin

Matt Schmidlin's Fundraiser

I am running to Protect Kids with Epilepsy image

I am running to Protect Kids with Epilepsy

Even Small Donations Can Change a Child's Life

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$15,237 towards $15,000

I'm not running for me. I'm not running to prove to myself that I can mentally & physically do a marathon. No, I'm running to give hope to kids when there seems to be no hope to have.


Thank you for considering a donation to support my 26.2 miles dedicated to those facing epilepsy.
On October 31, 2020 I experienced my first seizure. I remember where I was at, the moments leading up to the event, and the look of terror & fear as I came back to reality with my friends and family standing over the top of me.

The next few months more tests and trials were ran to try and figure-out how a perfectly healthy 25 year old could experience seizures out of the blue. No family history, no towering blows to the head, or MRI scans could point me any direction to understanding why.

More seizures were to come. The next 2 months I experienced 3 more seizures. Each with a different beginning, location, feeling, and surroundings but all ended the same. Loved ones stood next to me as the ambulances were called, all had tears running down their face, & all ending with puzzled looks on the doctor's faces as they released me from the ER.

Local treatment didn't help. They saw me as someone they could simply put on drugs and the issue would be resolved. Someone that would have too complicated of a explanation to put the time and energy in so they reverted to stronger medication.

December, 2020 a miracle happened. During the middle of the Covid pandemic when I thought my world was falling in I received a phone call. "Hello this is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and we hear that you are looking to schedule an appointment with our neurology center. We have availability in two weeks; do you think you can make it?" My family and I were a gasped! We knew that Mayo had the best neuro doctors in the world, but heard that getting into there could take years if you were lucky, but somehow I could get in within weeks?! Some call this lucky, but to me I call it fait.

Every test known to man were ran with the best scientists and doctors available. All their research, patience, and time they put in cannot be found on a piece of paper. It can be found however in my heart. All their conclusions were the same, "Matt, there is a very rare chance that young adults in their 20's develop seizures for no reason we can yet dictate and all our efforts point to this. You will be able to manage this, but it won't go away, it will last with you forever."

I stand before you 3 years later telling you that there is hope. That even in your dark days you will not be alone. I know the feeling of being alone: I know the feeling of feeling lost; I know the feeling of being afraid, but I also know the feeling of peace.


I ask that you donate money to help these kids live a normal life. To help these children feel a sense of unity. With the donations from you we can help these kids live another day.

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About Danny Did Foundation

Founded by Chicago parents Mike and Mariann Stanton in 2010 after the sudden death of their four-year-old son Danny, the Danny Did Foundation’s primary mission is to prevent deaths caused by seizures. The Foundation advances public awareness of epilepsy and Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), strives to improve communication about SUDEP between medical professionals and families affected by seizures, and advocates for the mainstream acceptance and use of seizure detection and prediction devices that may assist in preventing seizure-related deaths.

Epilepsy affects 3.4 million people in the United States and 65 million people worldwide. One in 26 Americans will develop epilepsy during their lifetime. But what few people understand, including many people with epilepsy, is that seizures can be fatal. More people die as a result of seizures than from fires and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) combined. In addition to deaths caused by drowning, other accidents, and status epilepticus (prolonged seizures),thousands of deaths occur annually from SUDEP, a fact that is little known and too rarely addressed by medical professionals and in public discussions of epilepsy.

The Danny Did Foundation takes it's name from the last line of Danny Stanton’s obituary, written by his dad: “Please go and enjoy your life. Danny did.” We celebrate Danny’s spirit in every child and family we reach.