UK Mom Installs Defibrillators In Town, After Losing Son To Sudden Cardiac Arrest

UK mom installs defibrillators in the town of Rugby, West Midlands, England, after losing her teenage son to cardiac arrest. Naomi Rees-Issitt channelled her grief and paid a loving tribute to her teenage son, Jamie Rees after he died due to a sudden cardiac arrest. 

Jamie Rees failed to receive immediate health aid. The nearest defibrillator was locked away in the nearby school and the ambulances arrived at a delay owing to other medical emergencies during the holiday season, as per a report.

Defibrillators are devices that send an electric pulse or shock to restore a normal heartbeat to the heart. Naomi Rees-Issitt was astonished to know very few defibrillators were lodged in her area and pledged to install 20 devices around town. She aims to install them by January 5, 2023, to mark the one-year death first anniversary of her son.

Rees-Issitt and her spouse were in Canada when they received the news of their youngest son’s cardiac arrest. Despite his friends trying their best at CPR, The 18-years-old did not receive enough oxygen until paramedics arrived. By the time his parents could arrive, he passed away in the hospital on January 5. The mother believes that the teen would have had about a 75 % survival chance had a defibrillator been present nearby.

UK Mom Installs Defibrillators

After losing her son, Rees-Issitt pledged to make the area more convenient for others so no one else loses their lives owing to a shortage of oxygen. She fundraise to get at least 20 defibrillators installed in their hometown of Rugby.

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In their first step in Jamie Rees's memory, the parents arranged for a defibrillator to be installed at Rees’s college, Rugby College. The defibrillator is the first of many that the parents are working towards.

The fundraising campaign turned out to be a successful one as what started with one grew to 20 kits after Rees-Issitt took it into her charge to formally organise a campaign as the OurJay Foundation. She believes that building-locked defibrillators are useless for abrupt cardiac arrests. It should be made available in place where they are easily accessible. They are also need of the hour considering a huge rise in young cardiac arrests.

Rees-Issitt has found solace in the notion that her son, even after his death, has been saving lives in some way. While the new defibrillators will help save lives, Jamie Rees, as an organ donor, since his death has already assisted five other people with his organs. The teen had previously informed his parents that he wanted to be an organ donor and had signed the donor registry to ensure that they were aware of his preferences. Five of his organs matched with some patients, one of which was a bay girl. Rees-Issitt lives on with her son’s fond memories and the satisfaction that her son has been doing a good deed even after his tragic demise.