News

January 20th, 2021

Dravet Syndrome Foundation Spotlights Appilepsy

This #MemberMonday meet David and Natasha!

David Fischer is a 16-year-old high school student who lives in Newtown, Massachusetts with his parents and 3 siblings. His favorite subject in school is math, and he is a competitive swimmer and Rubik’s cuber as well as an avid chess player. He enjoys spending time with friends and family and is a great helper with Natasha at home!

When David was 5-years old, his then 6-month old sister Natasha was diagnosed with Dravet syndrome. Natasha’s condition has had a profound impact on David and his family, and consequently, he has always been very conscious and supportive: always looking for ways to help Natasha, his family, and others impacted by Dravet syndrome. In 2012, David made about 100 origami butterflies to raise funds for at DSF’s Steps Towards a Cure walk in Atlanta.

After seeing first-hand the difficulties that his parents experience while managing Natasha’s care, David decided to spend time during the Covid-19 pandemic developing an app that would make the task easier for his parents and other caregivers in similar situations. In March of 2020, David started the development of Appilepsy, with the goal of consolidating a range of different tools and functions into one single app that would allow for the management of the many complexities of epilepsy. David received great feedback from doctors, caregivers, DSF, and his family, allowing him to better understand caregivers’ needs and tailor the app to the requirements of the community. Appilepsy has already launched for iOS devices and is free of cost.

Through his work, David hopes to support caregivers and patients with Dravet syndrome, all the while inspiring others to similarly contribute to their communities.

To download Appilepsy for iOS devices at no cost please click here or visit www.appilepsy.com.