Mum buys life-saving equipment for village
She had seen a man in cardiac arrest
A MUM who witnessed a cyclist suffer a “terrifying” heart attack has raised enough money to purchase a defibrillator for her village.
Maria Crowie-Mcgrath, from Bagworth, was driving through Thornton in July when she saw a man being given CPR on the roadside.
The 35-year-old pulled over to help and saw that the man, Peter Ward, from Ratby, was not breathing.
A cardiac nurse, who happened to be driving by at the time, administered CPR for 25 minutes before the ambulance arrived.
Peter, an electrician and dadof-three, survived and made a full recovery after spending several days in intensive care at Glenfield Hospital.
But Maria was so shocked by the ordeal that she launched a fundraising mission to buy a defibrillator for Bagworth.
The married mum-of-two raised nearly £3,000 through a series of events and purchased the life-saving equipment from St John’s Ambulance, who will also provide medical training for up to 30 people in the village in the New Year.
She also planned to donate £800 of the cash towards buying a defibrillator in Thornton too, but a different group has already raised the funds.
Instead she hopes to give the money to Bagworth and Thornton Parish Council, which donated £500, to maintain the upkeep of the equipment.
Maria, a senior nursery nurse, said: “It’s a big achievement and I’m thrilled to have raised so much money.
“If we had had a defibrillator we could have used it immediately on Peter and he would not have been starved of oxygen for so long.
“He could have died and at the time I thought: ‘What if that was my family?’ It was terrifying.
“I decided I had to do something to raise as much money as possible to buy a defibrillator which will benefit everyone in Bagworth and nearby villages.”
The family of Peter Ward tracked Maria down on social media and thanked her for her fundraising efforts.
Ruth Rolinson wrote on the fundraising page: “I’m Peter’s sister. Thank you so much for doing this, I continue to be amazed by the kindness of complete strangers.
Scores of villagers thanked Maria on social media and one even made a video in her honour.