Salaam, I want to say a big MASSIVE thank you to everyone who donated last Ramadan. I know you all give to different charities in Ramadan. However, this this one could save a life of one of your loved ones. Last time we raised enough for 1 defibrillator, please lets raise money for another one for the community! Thank you very much, and Ramadan Kareem.

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Please take time out and read this and why I have chosen to do this, my life saving journey in the memory of my beautiful mum may Allah grant my mum and dad and all parents who have left this world Jannath Al Firdous (Paradise).

As most of you will be aware my mum passed away very suddenly without any warning signs! My mum suffered with high blood pressure most of her adult life. I will never know if having a defibrillator could of saved my beautiful mum’s life. Life without mum and dad has never been the same having lost them both within 16 months of each other. I wanted to give something to the community by raising money to have as many defibrillators as we can around the community so we can all save as many lives as we can. Every heart beat counts and your whole life can change in literally a heartbeat!

I know we all have to return back to Allah one day. However, by raising money for a defibrillator, we collectively as a community can help a child to have their parents with them a bit longer. If we can save someone’s child, husband, wife, brother, sister or a friend, and then surely this can only be a good deed as God knows we all need them.

My aim is to raise funds to purchase defibrillators and acquire life-saving and CPR training for the community.

I want to raise awareness of the importance of early defibrillation for adults and children suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, and to help my community to acquire their own automated external defibrillator(s) (AED). A defibrillator is a device that gives a high energy electric shock to the heart through the chest wall to someone who is in cardiac arrest. This high energy shock is called defibrillation, and it's an essential life-saving step in the chain of survival.

Community Public Access defibrillators (CPAD) One Defibrillator costs £1,693.50 the community will purchase not only an AED but also a cabinet, which is usually placed on the outside of an easily identifiable building, the first defibrillator you all donated towards in now situated outside Jamia Mosque in Middlesbrough allowing 24 hour access to anyone. The cabinet are all fitted with a combination lock, which ensures that it is always secure. In the event of the AED being required for an adult or child gone into cardiac arrest, the code for the lock is obtained by dialling 999. The ambulance service is always notified that there is an incident in the location, an ambulance is deployed.

Hopefully no one will ever have to use it! but In the event of a cardiac arrest, the caller would be advised that there was an AED in the proximity, where it was located, and the code. The caller would be asked if someone could fetch the AED, but would be advised not to leave the patient to do so, as basic life support is crucial to survival.

Support and initial awareness training/sessions, will be delivered to community members so that everyone feels more confident and comfortable. The awareness sessions will cover making the initial 999 call, the information required, will give people the knowledge to identify someone in cardiac arrest, and the confidence to start CPR and use the AED. The training will only take two hours and is free to the community and will be delivered to men and women.

Some stats

•Pakistani men have the highest rate of heart disease

•The risks of South Asian women dying early from heart disease is 65% higher than the general population

•These are some of the factors smoking, high cholesterol levels, High blood pressure (hypertension), Diabetes, Over Weight Obesity, Physical Inactivity, and Nutrition.

Evidence shows that the time between cardiac arrest and the first shock being delivered, is a crucial factor to survival. If it is used within the first minute of collapse, the person’s chances for survival are close to 90%, if delayed by more than 10 minutes, the chance of survival in adults is less than 5%.

So please let’s fight for every heartbeat. Thank you for reading and please donate whatever you can and together lets save lives. At the end all we will take with us is our good deeds.

Thank you

Soraya Azam

♥ So let’s make every heart beat count! ♥