A MAN who suddenly lost both his sister and mother within 12 weeks has welcomed a lifesaving new app.

Rebecca Hayward died suddenly in her sleep at her Southampton flat aged 28 due to epilepsy – a condition she had lived with since she was 12.

As previously reported by the Daily Echo, her mum, Jeannie, of Gosport, died just three months later after suffering heart failure, which doctors say could have been caused by losing her daughter.

Since their deaths in 2012, Rebecca’s older brother Boyd has teamed up with SUDEP Action, a charity working to raise awareness of the risks faced by people with epilepsy.

Now he has backed a new app, called EpSMon, launched by the charity which aims to help adults who experience seizures lower their risk and better understand the condition.

The app, developed by clinicians and patients, will also make people aware of when a medical review of their epilepsy is important and flag up when they should get help sooner.

The 35-year-old life coach and drum teacher from Fareham said: “Anything that works towards lowering SUDEP rates is alright by me. A lot of understanding is lacking, so this will app help people with epilepsy to be better informed and manage their condition.

“Rebecca had lived with epilepsy since she was 12. She usually had early seizures in the morning and would sometimes bite her tongue, waking with a bloody mouth. But on a day to day basis, she got on with life without complaint.”

More than 600,000 people in the UK live with epilepsy. The app could prevent some of the 1,200 deaths a year.

Chief executive of SUDEP Action Jane Hanna OBE said: “We are grateful for all the great work Boyd has done raising awareness of risk in epilepsy and EpSMon. People may only see a doctor once a year for epilepsy. This app will help them manage their risk the rest of the time.”