THE owners of a Bolton coffee shop are holding a fundraiser on March 25, with the day’s takings going to fund an epilepsy charity.

Jill and Nigel Lyons, the owners of The Coffee Grind, Newport Street, know first hand about the condition, after their daughter Melissa, 22, developed it 12 years ago.

Melissa has since learned to lead as independent life as she can, thanks to mum and dad and her own boyfriend.

Melissa said: “It started for me when I was 10 years old. I remember once going to Brownie camp where I had a seizure and fell out of the top bunk.”

Once a diagnosis had been made, Melissa and her family had to deal with what they saw as a large amount of ignorance of the condition and what was a public lack of understanding, which still prevails even today.

Melissa explained: “I got bullied badly at my secondary school and the only way I could deal with it was to blank it out.”

Undeterred, Melissa involved herself in her school work and sporting activities but she also began to recognise when she was at her most vulnerable to epileptic attacks, which generally occur within the first couple of hours of waking up. It helped her plan her day around possible seizures.

It has led to her working alongside her mum and dad at Coffee Grind, because they are flexible in her working hours.

She added: “Despite being a qualified aromatherapist and holding a diploma in child care, it is still difficult for epileptics to find a job. I have applied for anything and everything but most employers don’t like the fact that I need flexible hours.

“Employers need to understand it and deal with it.”

Melissa, like her mum and dad, is also fully barista trained and will be at the fundraiser on Saturday March 25.

Jill, who is a former nurse, climbed Ben Nevis in 2004 to raise money for the charity and is determined that her daughter will live as normal a life as possible.

She said: “As a parent I can never get used to it when Melissa has a seizure and even though it is now 10 years ago since it first occurred, each one still feels like the first time.

“However, Nigel is a calming influence who helps both of us deal with it.

“I am so proud of her as a parent, but people are often too quick to judge if they see her with a black eye, which has happened when she has blanked out and fallen over.”

The family, which has another branch of their business at Bolton Market, will also sell raffle tickets there, but the main event will be held on March 25 for Purple Day the following day, to which all the money will be donated.