Margaret’s 10-mile fundraiser could be a lifesaver

AFTER paramedics with a defibrillator saved her husband’s life last year, Margaret Domaille decided to go on a one-woman mission to raise enough money for a publicly-accessible machine at the Salvation Army at L’Islet.

Picture By Peter Frankland. 11-06-18 Margaret Domaille is doing a walk for charity to raise money to buy a defibrillator for The Salvation Army at L'Islet. He husband needed the use of a machine when he collapsed at home and then had to have bypass surgery in the UK. Front are Margaret and Len Domaille. Back are Major Jamie Hill, Susan and Lawson Pipet (sister and brother-in-law of Margaret Domaille) and Major Claire Hill. (21701008)

Mrs Domaille, 60, will be doing a sponsored walk this Saturday of around 10 miles from Pleinmont to Town.

Once she heard the Salvation Army, the church she attends, was looking to buy a defibrillator for use in the case of an emergency cardiac arrest, she knew it was her chance to do something to help.

‘I was at home when my husband, Len, had his heart attack. He just started to feel unwell, was gasping for breath and went down to the ground,’ said Mrs Domaille.

Although she was unaware exactly what was happening to her husband at the time, she said that advice given by the operator over the phone and the paramedics at the scene using a defibrillator saved his life.

Mr Domaille was flown to Southampton for treatment and underwent a quadruple heart bypass. Although he has made a large improvement, he has been told that a full recovery could take years.

Mrs Domaille picked the route for her walk herself, including a steep climb up Pleinmont hill at the beginning.

‘I’ve never done anything like this on my own, but I did the round-island walk a few times when I was young,’ she said.

‘The importance of the heart is something I feel really strongly about, I want to be able to save someone else’s life if I can.’

The couple have a long-standing connection with the Salvation Army, attending service regularly and having married 20 years ago at Clifton.

Mr Domaille said he would have liked to join his wife and was proud of her idea to set off on the walk to help others.

‘I think it’s great actually. I went through an ordeal, if it wasn’t for the emergency services, I wouldn’t be here,’ he said.

Two corps officers at the Salvation Army, majors Claire and Jamie Hill, have been involved in fundraising and supporting Mrs Domaille.

‘We wanted to raise the money first and then we’ll need to get planning permission. So far in total we have around £1,500 of the £2,000 needed.

‘The cheaper option would have been to buy one for inside the building, but we’re part of the community so it will be somewhere mounted on the outside – there are so many people who could use it. If we can save just one person’s life it will be worth it,’ said Major Jamie Hill.

If someone is defibrillated after a heart attack they have a 40% or 50% greater chance of survival.

n Donations in support of Mrs Domaille can be made directly to the Salvation Army at L’Islet. She can be seen walking from 9am on Saturday wearing a yellow T-shirt bearing the Salvation Army crest.