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A sister says there are no words to describe her family’s pain after her 10-year-old brother died following a seizure.
Broadstairs schoolboy Lewis Dauncey-Jones had a history of attacks and was waiting for an MRI to uncover the cause when he suffered one on July 8, and died that day.
Speaking of her terrible loss, mum Cara Jones said: “Devastated is not a strong enough word to describe it.
“It just ripped my heart out and destroyed it. He was my best mate. He was so loving, such a caring boy.”
The St Peter-in-Thanet Junior School pupil had many hobbies and fascinations, including history, flags, space and maths, and his family say he was “a little genius.”
Miss Jones, 48, said: “He was top of his class and wise beyond his years.
“One time we were at a science event in Ramsgate, and a professor spoke about how many moons Jupiter has.
“Lewis put his hand up and said ‘I don't mean to be rude, but you're wrong’.
“The professor went off to check and Lewis was right.”
Due to his variety of interests, Lewis was a fountain of knowledge for one so young.
His mum said: “He was so unbelievable with the amount of information.
“As well as a diagnosis of autism, he had avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.
“He would come home with me every day for lunch as he had a lot of anxiety around eating.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without him because I picked him up every lunchtime and all my life was Lewis.
“We hugged all the time and when he was gaming I’d have to sit up there with him as he didn’t like me to be on a different floor.”
Lewis’ sister Charlotte Ünlü, told KentOnline: “There are just no words you can find to describe the pain.
“His favourite number is ten, and we have taken some comfort in the fact he will be forever ten.”
Remembered as a thoughtful boy, Lewis would say hello to everyone and was known to go out his way to help others.
Miss Jones recalled: “He was a cat lover but if we walked past someone with a dog, he would say ‘Oh what a lovely looking dog!’
“I’d say to him ‘but you don’t like dogs’ and he said ‘yes, but to them it’s the most beautiful dog’.
“He was amazing - so compassionate and caring. He was definitely going to make an impact on his world because he was just so clever.”
Lewis had been suffering from smaller seizures for roughly two years.
His dad Tim died of a heart attack aged 51 just months before in September, and Lewis’ episodes seemed to get more frequent as he was grieving.
The family are currently waiting for more answers from the coroner.
Lewis’ classmates recalled happy memories of the youngster in a booklet compiled by school staff.
They spoke of his exaggerated sneezes, positive attitude and the daily facts he shared at 3pm - an idea from teachers to help encourage him.
Headteacher Tim Whitehouse said: “It’s been an immensely sad week for St Peter’s following the news of Lewis’ death. Our love and prayers go out to his mum Cara, his sister and all the family.
“The grief they are feeling now touches us all. The death of anyone is a sad event, but the death of a child is a tragedy.”
A fundraiser has been set up by a family friend too help pay for any funeral costs.
So far, £1,500 has been raised, and his family would like to thank everyone who donated.