On Saturday 15^th May our lives changed forever.

On Thursday the 5^Th May I spoke to brother on the
phone. Within an hour Helen and I were stood waiting at Walsgrave hospital
waiting for the air ambulance to arrive with my beloved brother on board.

He had gone out for a bike ride. He was trying to loose the
final 3lbs that he needed to get to his target weight. On the bike ride in Long
Marston he collapsed of his bike with a cardiac arrest caused by an undiagnosed
heart condition which is hereditary but not as rare as you may think. www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/cardiomyopathy/hypertrophic-cardiomyopathy

Emergency services were called and due to his remote location,
Andrew’s only hope to receive the attention he needed was by air, the Warwickshire
and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance were quickly there to administer care.  It took a long time for him to become stable
enough to be transferred in the helicopter to Walsgrave. For their work, skilled
assistance and care at the time, we are truly grateful.

We waited for what seems like a life time for him to arrive.
We had been blue lighted over there by 2 policemen. Andrew finally arrived and
the minute we saw him we knew that this was going to be life changing for
Andrew and for the whole family. He had died during resuscitation but with him
being fit and young they worked hard and got him back.

Andrew was moved to critical care and from Thursday night to
Monday we hoped and hoped and prayed and prayed that things would be ok. On the
Saturday he had a few movements and we thought this was it. He was going to
wake up, only to be told that the movements are involuntary. We continued to
hope and tried to stay positive.

On Monday we got called into the relatives room (the room of
doom). After another CT scan we were told that Andrew was not going to wake up,
ever. The bottom fell out of our worlds. He had got massive brain swelling as
he was starved of oxygen for so long before being resuscitated. The decision
was made to withdraw all the treatment and meds that Andrew was receiving.

Andrew carried a donor card and we put the things in place
for him to donate. However this was not meant to be as he did not slip away
during the allotted 3 hour before his organs shut down.

Andrew was so so strong. “Strong as an ox” as my mum and dad
used to say. He fought and fought for 5 long days without any breathing
support. On Sunday morning at 12.50pm I held his hand, kissed his forehead and
told him I loved him for the last time. He closed his eyes and slipped away
peacefully. It was all we wanted for it to be peaceful and without pain.

It was ironic that the thing that let him down (his heart)
was the thing keeping him alive after treatment was withdrawn. It had grown
strong from all that love he had for everyone. We cannot explain the pain
watching someone you love so much in that terrible position. It is the worst
feeling in the world and I can physically feel my heart tearing apart.

Andrew was 44 years old. We are all so lucky to have had him
in our lives and for that we are thankful. He was so brave and strong. A
fighter until the end. As the heart condition is hereditary myself, my 3
children and my Dad have all got to be tested .

Live is so short as Andrew has proven. If he was here now
and had survived this horrific ordeal he would want to say to you all………

Do what makes you happy, Enjoy every minute, get rid of
negativity, and most of all party!!!