06/06/2026
It’s so I want to acknowledge that I couldn’t have done this defibrillator appeal without the support of some amazing people who helped me along the way.
In the height of lockdown my husband suffered a severe cardiac arrest. His heart stopped for nearly half an hour & he was in a coma for a week, & I was resigned to caring for a severely brain damaged man for the rest of our days. Miraculously, he not only survived but, moreover, made a phenomenal recovery, working again as an academic & publishing a highly acclaimed book just last year. The medics don’t understand it, because he didn’t have access to defibrillation so his chances of recovery were from 2%. So I made it my mission to raise funds for AEDs in our community; I have thus far installed three & am currently working on a fourth.
This was previously unknown terrain to me & I cannot emphasise enough how much I value the support of my nextdoor neighbour, Bex Jessey, in those torturous early days, & a previously unknown local resident, Frank Epstein. Frank is a trustee for Thames Valley Heartbeat: a volunteer-run charity who have donated two of my three defibrillators & have agreed to provide a fourth. TVH raise funds for this purpose so please support them here: https://thamesvalleyheartbeat.org.uk.
I hadn’t done First Aid training when my husband had his cardiac arrest so will forever be grateful to the unknown 999 call handler who talked me through CPR, as well as the six paramedics who took over. But I have recently had my refresher training from the wonderful Paul Markham from Green Box First Aid Training. Honestly, if you need First Aid training - don’t hesitate. I am testament to the fact that you’ll never know when you’ll need it - & Paul’s is the best training I’ve ever had.
Furthermore, Paul has generously adopted our Barley Mow defib, & this week delivered a new set of pads having previously donated an expensive replacement battery at Christmas. AEDs need monthly checks by ‘guardians’ to ensure that they are in good working order for when the worst happens so big thanks to Robson for watching over the Egham one for me 🙏🏼 Check where your nearest defib is at: https://www.defibfinder.uk.
Thanks to everyone who agreed to host one of my defibs: The Beehive, The Barley Mow, the The United Church of Egham, & now, Green Village Forum - specifically Mike Kelly. We will get that fourth one installed & it’ll be right in the heart of our village! I also want to thank EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU who donated to my appeal: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/community-defibrillator-for-englefield-green-east. You have funded the cabinet for Defib #4 and they all need maintenance so keep it coming 🙏🏼
Thanks to Egham Campaigner - Mark Adams for nominating me for the Runnymede Borough Council Civic Award that I won for this campaign, and to Dr Ben Spencer for all his support, introducing me to the PM and opening our UCE defibrillator.
Finally, big thanks to Matt Dickson for repositioning all of Royal Holloway, University of London’s AEDs into external cabinets near the university’s boundaries, and to previous Principal Layzell for his support with this ❤️
