Voices: What happened to my daughter in front of Taylor Swift was every parent’s worst nightmare
It was the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, London, night three. After queuing up outside all day in the scorching heat, my two teenage daughters and I had managed to position ourselves second row from the front. We were a couple of hours into dancing and singing our hearts out when my eldest had a seizure.
While 85,000 Swifties screamed the lyrics they know by heart, the way most people know their loved ones’ phone numbers, Sophia – who had told me moments before that she didn’t feel well – was on the wet, sticky plastic flooring of Wembley Stadium.
Sophia, who’s 19, is epileptic. It isn’t photo-sensitive and she had been given the medical all-clear to attend this concert – the most epic night of her life – but I still immediately felt stupid for bringing her and her younger sister Ellie (who’s only 14) here; for putting us in this vulnerable position.
The medics soon really tests your abilities to function under pressure. Even there, surrounded by all these screaming strangers, with my daughter’s idol just metres away from us, I had to retain the awareness and communication skills to be able to question the attending medical professionals.
