They say life can change in a blink of an eye; it's cliché but it's true! I never in a million years imagined the outcome on the 18th of November 2018… a week earlier I was in Peru when I received the news; my Mam had suffered a major heart attack.

People ask how I managed to travel home knowing what had happened. The truth is, I naively never considered the outcome. I knew my Dad had performed CPR and the paramedics had worked tirelessly, with her arresting at home then again in the ambulance. But I knew she was stable enough for the doctors to successfully insert a stent into one of the blood vessels in her heart.

What I didn't think about was the extent of the damage to her brain due to the lack of oxygen. When the doctor took us into a room on the Friday evening and told us there was no chance of survival, it felt surreal like something you see in a movie or as if you're living someone else's life and hearing those words.

I always knew my mam was as tough as they come; she’d battled through so much in her life. She put up a hell of a fight right to the end, not letting go after the life support was switched off until two days later when she finally passed away on Sunday 18th of November 2018. I guess this was one battle too many for her this time.

In 2019, I raised £2136 for University of Warwick by completing the Great North Run. The money that was raised went towards research into Hypoxic Brain Injury (HBI) after Cardiac Arrest. The money was allocated by the University to help fund an international meeting of experts about HBI after cardiac arrest, with the aim to improve the outcome in similar situations. This led to a literature review and summary of the current processes, which was published in The Lancet (the worlds largest independent medical journal with a reported 140 million downloads from their website each year)

The following are some statistics around HBI:

• In the UK, around 37,500 people sustain an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year

• Approximately 7000 people are admitted to intensive care for post-cardiac arrest care per year in the UK

• Overall, fewer than 10% patients survive to leave hospital after a cardiac arrest

• Hypoxic brain injury (damage to the brain caused by lack of oxygen) accounts for two thirds of all individuals that die on the intensive care unit following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Fast forward 5 years and life has changed significantly, and I now feel it’s the right time to raise more money!

I’ve set a target to raise £10K in 2025 which will again be donated to Warwick University to help continue their world-leading cardiac arrest research. They will use funds raised to help identify and improve the care and treatment of patients following their cardiac arrest.

The Best Football Tournament (quite possibly) in Durham

On Saturday 14th June at Maiden Castle Sports Complex in Durham, some of the North East best businesses will go head to head to win The Ann Maughan Champions Cup! My mam was all about family, friends and fun! So the aim of the afternoon is for families to come along, support their team, get involved with other activities going on, enjoy some food and drink, and most of all have FUN!