Some of you know and a lot of you won’t but in January of 2012 I suffered a cardiac arrest after playing rugby as a result of an underlying heart condition called Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome. Although not entirely as a result of my heart condition the cardiac arrest was undoubtedly a very traumatic experience for all concerned. I was very fortunate to be resuscitated in hospital with the aid of a defibrillator and a couple of weeks later I underwent heart surgery and was aided with great support in my long road to recovery. I am not asking for sympathy but that you could donate whatever you can to Fabrice Muamba’s charity Hearts & Goals linked with Arrhythmia Alliance who are attempting to raise enough money for 500 public defibrillators, training and help in raising awareness of underlying heart conditions to prevent sudden loss of life.

 

Quite startlingly in the UK 100,000 people die as a result of a cardiac arrest which is more than breast cancer, lung cancer and aids combined. Having a defibrillator administered within five minutes can give someone a 50% chance of survival and a second opportunity at living their life. However in so many instances this unfortunately isn’t the case and most people who are lucky enough to receive CPR have only 5% chance of survival. From personal experiences I know of two people who have had someone very close taken away from them as a result of a sudden cardiac arrest and hope that with the aid of greater awareness and access to defibrillators this is something that will help prevent other families and friends from losing loved ones in this tragic manner.

 

To raise money for Hearts and Goals I have already completed the Paris Marathon on April 7 2013. Although a struggle I did get to the end of the course. On August 19 2013 I will begin my climb of Mt Kilimanjaro. It is a 6 day hike and will take a battle with altitude sickness and other elements to reach the summit. I am very aware that these are very difficult economic times but PLEASE could you donate anything you can as this does happen regardless of age, socio-economic background and health.

 

I would be very grateful if people could re-post and tweet this to family, friends, work colleagues and businesses via Facebook and Twitter. I am hoping to gain as much support as possible for a public cause that can and will save a large number of lives.

 

Thank you for your support

 

Alex Davis