A Sheffield Wednesday fan whose daughter died after suffering a heart attack at an Owls match aged just 29 is campaigning for defibrillators in the four corners of every football stadium.
Paul Gregory, 52, started the One in Every Corner campaign to help reduce the number of deaths of sudden cardiac arrest and is now hoping to expand to other sporting arenas.
Mr Gregory said: “I lost my daughter 12 months ago, and I started Lauren’s Legacy to help keep Lauren’s memory alive. The idea came to me while at a football match when I thought wouldn’t it be a great idea to have a defib in every corner of the ground to give someone who suffers a cardiac arrest the best chance of survival.”
Since the start of the foundation, Lauren’s Legacy has successively placed defibrillators in five football clubs – Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Leeds United, Shrewsbury Town and Bromley – with funding raised so others can receive theirs next season.
The memory of Lauren is also starting to attract the attention of big sporting names such as Sheffield’s Dalton Smith, who is the current British super light-weight champion, European super light-weight champion and the Commonwealth super light-weight champion.
Mr Gregory would like to see more defibrillators across all sports venues. He explained: “Over recent years we have seen incidents happening all over the country that the use of defibs and the need for defibs is obviously getting greater than ever.
“Every week at sporting events, occasionally there have been incidents where the need for defibs has been needed to help bring someone back to life.”
He has also the importance not only of defibrillators but also of heart screenings in young people under the age of 35.
British Heart Foundation figures have revealed that 12 people in the UK, under the age of 35 die from a sudden cardiac arrest every week due to inherited heart conditions and Mr Gregory says he and many others who have suffered the loss of a loved one know how important it is for people to have a heart screening.
He said: “A lot of young people think that it’s a taboo subject and a lot of them think I’m too young, that’s never going to happen to me. I would say to those people – just get it done, why wouldn’t you do something that could potentially save your life?”
