In September 2016, Gary suffered a cardiac arrest during the Cardiff 5k Race for Victory. He ran most of the course before having a cardiac arrest and collapsing on the roadside. St John Cymrus Cardiff Cycle Response Unit, was the first at the scene.

Garys heart was stopped for 7 minutes but our volunteers were able to get it beating by itself again using a defibrillator. He was fortunate that everything came together at the right time, with early intervention and people on hand with the right training and equipment. Gary was in an induced coma for 3 days and spent 18 days at University Hospital of Wales where he had his own defibrillator fitted.

Gary told us, the race was supposed to be a bit of fun. My boys are fit so we thought wed take part together. I go to the gym a few times a week and Id trained for the race. I was plodding along at a lovely pace until the 4.5k mark. Thats apparently when I collapsed."

Thankfully, Gary has made a fantastic recovery but the survival rate for cardiac arrests out of hospital is low, just 3% in Wales. By fund-raising for St John Cymru you can help us get new equipment so we can make sure more people like Gary are reached quickly and given the best possible chance of survival.

Our Hands on for Hearts campaign highlights the importance of Defibrillators being places in locations across Wales so they can be accessed quickly and easily by anyone who finds themselves in an emergency situation, like this one. Your fundraising could help us equip our premises and volunteers with these lifesaving machines along with replacement parts for when they've been used.

And... if your organisation would like to house a defibrillator we can help with that too. Raise at least £1,350 for us and get one for free.