Dad went to work one day and just never came home
Daughter raising cash for heart charity
An Armadale woman is hosting a family fun day to raise money for a cardiac arrest charity after her dad passed away from an unexpected heart attack 12 years ago.
Chantelle McNeill (25) is set to host the event this summer and is hoping to raise funds for the charity Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS).
Chantelle lost her father, Derek Meechan, to SADS 12 years ago.
On a day like any other when she was just 13, her dad left for work and never came home.
Derek was only 43-years-old, fit and healthy, with no obvious health concerns, when he passed away in 2010.
Chantelle said: “The fundraiser is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, ever since my dad passed away 12 years ago. He went to work one day with no obvious health concerns, where he collapsed and couldn’t be saved.”
The family fun day will go ahead on Saturday, June 11, at Coppies Bar in Armadale from noon to 2pm.
Activities will include a tombola, raffles, ‘guess the bear’s name’, facepainting, balloon modelling, a bouncy castle, and snacks.
The prizes include a gym membership worth £200, hampers, and vouchers for various local businesses and organisations.
A child’s wristband for the event costs just £2, with all proceeds going to SADS.
So far Chantelle has raised £250 and hopes to raise even more for SADS before the family fun day takes place.
She added: “I’ve chosen SADS because I believe that they can really help save lives. They deploy defibrillators to help resuscitate people who have collapsed from cardiac arrest. Research by the charity shows that deploying a defibrillator within three to five minutes of collapse can increase survival rates to as high as 50 to 70 per cent.
“A person suffering from cardiac arrest needs help in the first 10 minutes to survive.
“I wanted to help do something for other people, by raising funds for SADS to help them deploy defibrillators, you’re saving lives.”
All funds raised from the family fun day will go towards the charity.
You can donate to Chantelle’s fundraiser at https://www.justgiving. com/fundraising/chantellemeechan?utm_source=Twitter&utm_ medium=fundraising&utm_ content=chantelle-meechan&utm_ campaign=pfp-tweet&utm_term=96f 6939634fa4ded9f9e68fb86720c58