SIX NATIONS BRINGS BACK HEARTACHE OF LOSING OUR JACK
Son died while watching match on TV aged just 15
THE Six Nations brings back devastating memories for a mother whose teenage son died while watching Wales play.
Jack Thomas was only 15 when he died suddenly as he watched Wales’ Six Nations match against Scotland in February 2012.
He was watching the game at his girlfriend’s home in Newbridge and was photographed looking happy and smiling less than five minutes before he stopped breathing.
He even had his photograph taken after making a cup of tea during the halftime break.
He suddenly stopped breathing moments later.
It was suspected that Jack, from Oakdale, Blackwood, died following arrhythmia, but this has never been confirmed.
Following the anniversary of Jack’s death on February 12, Jack’s mother June said this time of year always remains particularly hard, especially during the Six Nations.
June, 51, said: “I found it really difficult because I went to watch one of the Wales games in Blackwood Rugby Club and this is where I was seven years ago when I had the phone call.
“I find it difficult to watch the anthem. When they are singing it all comes flooding back.
“I wonder what he would be doing now – his Masters probably.”
June said Jack, who was a black belt in taekwondo, would have been 23 this year. Just before his death, Jack had received the wonderful news that he had won a scholarship to study at a sixth form college. He had planned to study maths, further maths, chemistry, biology and history.
June and her husband Grant said their younger son Owain has been their “rock”. June said both her sons were “good boys” and that Owain had gone on to study mechanical engineering at a university in Edinburgh.
“Owain is our rock. I always say that seven years ago a 12-year-old pulled me out of the rubble.
“If it wasn’t for him I don’t know where I’d be today. He always was our rock. He kept us going.”
June and Grant have now dedicated a lot of their time to trying to prevent further deaths like Jack’s by getting a defibrillator placed in every school in Wales.
They don’t know if having access to a defibrillator would have saved their son’s life, but it could save others.
“We don’t know (if it would have saved Jack), because we don’t know what Jack died of. It’s something we will never know.
“Because we don’t have a cause of death we can’t say that it would have.”
June, who was awarded a British Empire Medal in 2016, added: “There is a law to having a fire extinguisher, but there is no law to have a defibrillator and there is more of a chance of someone having a heart attack than someone having a fire.”
After Jack died, June and Grant set up ‘Jack’s Appeal’ to provide AED (automated external defibrillator) devices to schools in Wales.
During this time, they have helped to place 81 defibrillators in schools and public buildings and raised almost £80,000.
They have been supported by the charity Welsh Hearts, which works to provide defibrillators and free CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training to schools and local communities.
The family have also worked with Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) to help offer heart screenings to 1,057 young people aged between 14 and 35 in memory of Jack.
Around £92,451 was raised to cover the cost of these screenings.
As well as this, the family have also been working alongside Aneurin Bevan University Health Board so an extra 40 public access defibrillators can be placed in areas such as Newport and Blackwood.
The family are also hosting a number of fundraising events this year, including a charity ball, to raise more funds in memory of Jack.
Details about the events and how you can help will be published on the campaign’s Facebook page Remembering Jack Thomas.