I'm raising funding on behalf of 'Calderdale Community CPR Fund' by taking part in running 3 x 10k events.

On 1st of August 2023, I suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.

At first, the day seemed just like any other day. I don’t remember feeling unwell. I had no history of heart issues and had no indication that there was any problem with my heart. My partner Kate and I went to the gym early that morning. I remember warming up on the treadmill for a few minutes. The next thing I knew I was on the floor, surrounded by paramedics, being lifted onto a stretcher and fitted with an oxygen mask. Initially, I had thought that I had just fallen over, and was confused by all the fuss around me.

I’d had a cardiac arrest whilst on the treadmill. A member of staff began CPR immediately while another member of staff ran to collect the defib from their reception area. The first shock brought me back round, but then my heart stopped again. The second shock brought me back fully.

I was very lucky that the gym had a defibrillator onsite and that staff members at the gym were trained in CPR. They saved my life. I was revived within a few minutes. An ambulance had arrived a few minutes later, and I was rushed to hospital.

I was admitted to the cardiology ward at Calderdale Royal Hospital. The cardiology team conducted a series of tests over the next week. I was a diagnosed with a heart condition, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, and was fitted with an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) and pacemaker.

It was a lot to take in. After spending a week in hospital under observation, I was allowed to go home.

I learned that fewer than 1 in 10 people who suffer a sudden cardiac arrest out-of-hospital survive. How fortunate I was to be alive. I took things slowly once I was back home. At first I couldn’t walk very far. I remember going for walks and struggling to go further than 100 yards. I worried that I might not make a full recovery.

Gradually, I started to feel stronger and more like myself again. My mobility improved and I began to trust my body again. After consulting with my doctor, I started running and doing aerobics regularly. I started slowly, feeling uneasy about putting my heart under any pressure. Over time I started to push myself more. Exercise is hugely beneficial to people with Cardiomyopathy. It’s very important to stay active.

We met with the founder of Calderdale Community CPR Neil Davidson and we learned about his experiences. It was great to meet with and talk to a fellow cardiac arrest survivor. We learned about his cardiac arrest, and his recovery. We learned about his inspiring work helping people learn how to do CPR, and his fundraising for more defibrillators so that more lives can be saved. We wanted to get more involved in supporting his work.

We were inspired to learn more about CPR and defibrillators. Teaching more people how to perform CPR, and ensuring more defibrillators are readily available is a fantastic cause, and will make a huge difference and will save more lives. Research shows that initiating CPR immediately can quadruple the survival rates for an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Survival rates can be as high as 70% if a defibrillator is used within 5 minutes of a cardiac arrest, and every minute of delay reduces the chances of survival by up to 10%. The lack of defibs is putting lives at risk. Neil’s work and his community fund is playing a vital role in addressing this and ensuring there are more defibrillators in our community and that more people are trained in CPR.

And that is why I'd like to give back and raise money to help Neil's charity so that there are more people trained in CPR and the community has more access to defibs. In the hope that we can save more lives. See more about Neil's charity here - https://calderdalecpr.co.uk/

I will be running 3 x 10k runs to raise money. The events are:

York 10k (3rd August)

Tatton Park 10k (9th August)

Cromwell Bottom 10k (14th August)

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. And thank you for your support and donations.