Public Defibrillator at Heath Park High School.
Two local Wolverhampton families, brought together by similar tragic events have joined together to install a public defibrillator at Heath Park High School.
Resham Nagra lost her son from an undiagnosed heart condition at the mere age of 26 Pardeep was fit, healthy and had no prior symptoms that would suggest he had an undiagnosed heart condition. Pardeep and his younger brother Kulbir were pupils at Heath Park High School between 1993 and 2003.
In similar circumstances, Rachel Dingle also lost her only brother Alex to an undiagnosed heart condition. He was also fit and healthy with no prior symptoms. Alex was from the Eastfield area of Wolverhampton.
Since the tragic loss of both very much loved young men, the families have raised money to educate, raise awareness and attempt to prevent other families going through such tragic circumstances.
As a result, CRYWOLVES was set up in memory of Pardeep and the family have hosted numerous heart screening events across Wolverhampton including The Molineux, the Youth Zone, Eclipse Gym, and Wednesfield Community Centre Library. These events have only been made possible through fundraising tens of thousands of pounds. Heart screening events are held through the national charity Cardiac Risk in the Young, and screen young people aged between 14 – 35 years of age.
A weekend of heart screening can cost up to £15,000, enabling 200 young people to be screened with a simple ECG, followed by an ECHO if necessary and then all individuals having an informal talk to the specialist doctors about their results.
The screening events are extremely sought after and often have a waiting list. These events can be found at www.testmyheart.org.uk.
We are hoping in the near future that in partnership with Heath Park and CRYWOLVES that we will be able to set up a Screening event at Heath Park High School next year. Every year, it is thought that at least 16 young people die from an undiagnosed heart condition.
CRYALEX was set up in memory of Alex focusing on installing public defibrillators across the West Midlands and Staffordshire. The family has installed over 20 public defibrillators which have gone on to save numerous lives. The public defibrillators are installed by a local national charity; AED DONATE.
In friendship, Resham and Rachel joined together to install a public defibrillator at Heath Park High School, a place so close to the Nagra’s family and where Pardeep thoroughly enjoyed his time during education but also making lasting friendships. The public defibrillator is now proudly installed at the front of Heath Park High School in a bright, secure, yellow cabinet. Resham and Rachel conducted assemblies with every year group explaining to the children about heart screening and what a defibrillator is and how they can save lives.
