Triathlon run to highlight the importance of CPR
THE SON of a man who suffered a cardiac arrest and was saved by two members of the public will compete in his first triathlon to raise funds for St John Ambulance Guernsey and the Cardiac Action Group.
Earlier this year, Rick Denton’s life was saved by two members of the public who were trained in first aid by St John and the St John training manager, who was in an office nearby.
Mr Denton was given CPR and shocked with an Automated External Defibrillator. He had regained consciousness before the emergency ambulance crew arrived.
His 24-year-old son, Charlie, is hoping that by taking part in his first triathlon, he will not only raise money to support the work of St John and the Cardiac Action Group, but also raise awareness of the importance of learning CPR and how to use an AED.
‘The reality is, my dad is one of the few to survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest,’ Charlie said.
‘We can do so much with relatively little to improve the odds of survival for people in my dad’s situation. So even though I might be in a lot of pain during this triathlon, I’ll be happy throughout knowing that I’m raising money to help reduce the risk of death from cardiac arrest in Guernsey.’
He hopes to raise awareness and £999 for the charities.
‘On 29 September, I will be running the Hever Castle Olympic-length Triathlon in aid of Guernsey’s St John Ambulance Service and Cardiac Action Group. Both these organisations work tirelessly to mitigate the effects of CVDs and are campaigning to install a defibrillator in every Guernsey Island Games sports venue by 2021,’ he said.
Effective bystander CPR provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.
If a defibrillator is used within three to five minutes of cardiac arrest, survival rates jump from 6% to 74%.
In 88% of cases, these arrests happen at home.
n To read more about Mr Denton’s story and to donate, visit https://bit.ly/2klspVz.
