A LIFE-SAVING defibrillator has been fitted at a Pershore school thanks to the hard work and generosity of a county couple.
The machine can be found at the Abbey Park Schools Federation in the heart of the town in the latest success story for the Charlotte and Craig Saving Hearts Foundation.
Rob and Maggie Underwood have lived in fear of the day their children need emergency care every since their two eldest, Charlotte and Craig, passed away.
Four of their youngsters suffer from a rare condition, known as vascular ehlers-danlos syndrome, which could result in catastrophic internal bleeding and which has already claimed the lives of the two elder siblings.
The caring Redditch couple established the charity three years ago in memory of Charlotte and Craig.
The couple have devoted their lives to putting life-saving defibrillators into schools, community halls, and public venues.
Since the charity’s creation, more than 170 defibrillators have been installed at schools and defibrillators across the West Midlands, including one at Abbey Park Schools Federation.
Rooftop Housing Association donated money for the cabinet to house the defib machine and Three Seas Electrical installed it free of charge.
Several staff at the school have been trained to use the defibrillator, although it can be operated by members of the public by following the instructions on the cabinet.
Sam Faulkner, from Abbey Park Schools Federation, told the Observer: “Its not just for the school, it’s for the whole community and the machine is now available 24/7.
“We were asked by Maggie and Rob if we’d like to take part.
“After hearing their story we definitely wanted to get involved as we can’t just assume it’s just older people who will need to use this machine.
“This was a really big community effort and we just felt this was really important,” she added.
Defibrillators are typically portable units that are used in Emergency Resuscitation.
When a patient experiences sudden cardiac arrest and is not moving, the unit will provide an electric shock to be transferred to their heart.
Most units will run off an automatic programme and the electricity is carried via insulated cables from a safe distance, isolating it from contact.
This verifies that the charge is only travelling to where the unit is connected to, and nowhere else.
E-mail [email protected] or call 07794 637073 for more information about the campaign.
