Fit and healthy student, 22, suddenly dies during an afternoon NAP despite showing no warning signs – as her grieving mother reveals the heartbreaking moment she was told her daughter was gone
- The family of a young woman who died unexpectedly are heartbroken after loss
- Maddie Gill, 22, died after she went for a lie down following work on December 5
- Post-mortem found she died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy
- The parents of Ms Gill feel ‘robbed and cheated’ by their daughters passing
- Ms Gill was diagnosed with absence seizures back in primary school
The family of a ‘vivacious’ young woman with a ‘zest for life’ have been left devastated after she died unexpectedly in her sleep with no warning.
Queensland woman Maddie Gill, 22, went for a nap after work on December 5 last year and did not wake up again.
Her housemate checked on Ms Gill a few hours after she went to lie down and made the devastating discovery, The Courier-Mail reported.
The university student’s death came as a shock to family and friends as there were no alarm bells to indicate there was anything wrong with the healthy 22-year-old.
Maddie Gill (pictured) is remembered by her friends and family as a ‘vivacious’ young woman
Ms Gill (pictured) was a final-year marketing and advertising student at the Queensland University of Technology
The final-year advertising and marketing student at the Queensland University of Technology was diagnosed with absence seizures back in primary school.
Ms Gill was found to have died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, where no specific cause of death is known.
Her mother Debra Tibbotts said learning of her daughter’s death was ‘the worst night of my life’.
Ms Gill’s stepfather Chris Tibbotts said they were at home when a local police officer came up the driveway.
‘The moment I saw him I knew something wasn’t going to be good. They don’t normally make visits at 10.30pm,’ he said.
Ms Tibbotts wants her daughter to be remembered for ‘her zest for life’.
Maddie Gill, 22, (pictured) reportedly went for a nap before work when her roommate discovered that she had passed away
‘She had the world at her feet and was just embarking on a wonderful journey in life and it was taken far too soon. We feel really robbed and cheated, it’s just unfair.’
In memory of Ms Gill, the family started a fundraiser for Epilepsy Queensland to raise money for Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy research.
‘In memory of our beautiful Maddie, we have have set up this link to raise funds to assist and support families of SUDEP and the ongoing research into Epilepsy,’ the family wrote online.
‘Maddie was a great advocate of supporting Purple Day which is a worldwide annual event on March 26 dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy and raising funds.
‘Over 200,000 people will acquire epilepsy in their lifetime. The cause of SUDEP is still unclear and not well understood. Research is ongoing and vital funds are required to assist in further investigation.’
The family are asking for donations for ‘vital’ research in lieu of flowers.
‘She wanted people to know that it’s not a scary thing, a lot of people have it and just don’t talk about it enough,’ Mr Tibbotts said.
The family have raised more than $6,000 dollars for Epilepsy Queensland.
A fundraiser for Ms Gill (pictured) has already raised more than $6,000 for Epilepsy Queensland