Fair Play - 7/11/09

A bevy of butterflies, released into the sky, was the fitting final touch to the first annual Fair Play event. Hosted at Emmerling Community Park, the event honored the memory of Emma Bursick, who suffered a fatal complication of epilepsy called SUDEP — Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy. The Bursick family established the Emma Bursick Memorial Fund at the Epilepsy Foundation of Western/Central Pennsylvania to promote SUDEP public awareness and research. Nearly 1,000 people donated an estimated $20,000. “We had a huge turnout. It was an amazing amount of money to raise for a first event,” says Judy Painter, executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Western/Central Pennsylvania. Photography by Megan Wylie