SAM APPEARED TO BE FIGHTING FIT BUT HE DIED IN HIS SLEEP AGED JUST 25
ADAD has spoken of his devastation after his gymaddict son died of heart failure in his sleep at the age of just 25. Sam Standerwick had just returned to his hotel after a night out in Liverpool with friends when he fell asleep and never woke again.
A coroner’s report later revealed that the seemingly healthy young man, who worked out most nights and was obsessive about his diet, had a 70% blockage in his coronary artery – something commonly seen with people with major heart disease.
His dad Adrian Standerwick, from Llanddulas, Conwy, said: “His heart just didn’t have enough power to keep going and just stopped beating in his sleep.
“We just couldn’t believe it. We had nine weeks to wait for the inquest and it was driving us crazy thinking ‘What is this?’
“Did someone inject him with drugs? Was it a brain aneurysm?
“He had gone to sleep and just never woke up.
“It’s heart-breaking. If I knew then what I know now Sam would still be here.”
Sam, who worked at his dad’s CCTV business and was busy setting up his own firm, had been suffering from heart palpitations for months before he died on December 17 last year.
Adrian said: “The night before he was suffering from heart palpitations, something he had been saying about for a little while, every now and again.
“My wife said to him, ‘You need to get checked over. I will book you an appointment tomorrow.’
“He said ‘I’m out with the lads in Liverpool tomorrow, I will do it next week.’
“He got ready to go out to Liverpool.
“He said, ‘Love you mum, love you dad, see you tomorrow,’ and went on his night out.
“The next day Kim, his girlfriend, phoned us asking if we had heard from him.”
The family became concerned when they phoned the hotel where he was staying and a manager told them there had been a serious incident and police were on the scene.
Later officers arrived at the family home in Llanddulas to tell them the tragic news.
Heartbreakingly they discovered Sam was going to propose to girlfriend Kim. They found an engagement ring in his possessions after his at the doctor’s for death. Adrian said: “It’s not something where you wake up one day and everything is rosy.
“I wake up and for a split second I forget. Then I realise I will never see my son again.
“It’s become a physical pain, as if someone is punching you really hard in the chest, and you feel that you have to do something or you’ll just curl up and die.
“Our family motto is: ‘ We have been seriously knocked down but we’re not staying down. We are coming back at you.’”
The family, which includes mum Deb and children Simon, 30, Matthew, 26, and Amy, 22, have set up the Sam Standerwick Memorial Project to raise awareness and funds for vital heart screening programmes.
Since March this year they have raised more than £20,000 and are looking to have 200 people screened in North Wales in February next year.
They are also raising money for defibrillators and want to see every school and sports club and gym fitted with one.
Adrian said: “What amazes me about heart conditions is it’s almost like it’s the best-kept secret.
“People are dying from this every single week but people aren’t being informed.”
Adrian’s other children have all been screened for potential heart conditions and the dad-of-four said he wanted others to be aware of the possible signs of a heart problem.
These include heart palpitations, dizziness, blackouts and swelling around the ankles.
He wants anyone who is worried, has experienced these symptoms, or has a family history of heart disease to see a doctor.
To find out more or to donate visit bit.ly/samstanderwick