I was at my local Parkrun yesterday and they announced that in just a week they had raised enough funds for buy a defib!
Which is absolutely brilliant, but I wondered what the impetus had been to do so in such a short space of time.
I had a chat with the lovely Tracy who organises the event and apparently the trigger for it was a runner who had had an SCA after the race a couple of weeks before.
Fortunately he survived, but as Parkrun and other sporting events become a regular part of peoples life, how many more won’t be so lucky before having an AED is mandatory at large sporting events?
After our first meet-up in February 2015, I realised I was not alone. It was the first time since my cardiac arrest the previous year that I had spoken face-to-face with someone who had experienced what I had. This was also true for my wife, who also happened to be my lifesaver. From that meet-up, the idea of SCA UK was born. Since then, we have achieved a considerable amount, primarily providing information, resources and support to others in a similar situation but also raising the profile of survivorship and the need for better post-discharge care. We are starting to get traction in this, and with the formation of the charity, I genuinely believe we have a bright future ahead and will make a significant difference in the lives of many who join our ranks.