Mission to replace stolen heart start unit in memory of brother
A fundraising campaign is under way to replace a defibrillator stolen from its outside cabinet.
The defibrillator, which was set up in memory of Alex Brown following his death from sudden cardiac arrest aged 25 in 2015, was stolen from outside Penn Models in Kingswinford.
The theft, which took place on Monday, June 29, prompted Alex’s sister Rachel Dingle to begin a new fundraising campaign to replace the defibrillator and repair the cabinet.
The 34-year-old from Burntwood said the theft was difficult to take because of the effect it could have on someone’s life.
She said: “It isn’t the monetary value that is the annoying factor here as we can replace a £1,000 unit through our fundraising.
“It is the potential loss of life whilst it is missing which is the unforgivable aspect as a lost life can never be replaced, something I personally unfortunately know only too well.
“This is why I do what I do, why we run our fundraising events, and is why it is unforgivable for somebody to commit such a mindless, selfish act.”
Through the Facebook page CRYALEX, Rachel has been able to raise more than £600 towards a new defibrillator and cabinet and has been in conversation about infra-red cameras with Penn Models.
The shop has also has a donation bucket for people to donate money and Rachel said the community response had been very strong.
She said: “We’ve had more than 60,000 likes on Facebook and people have been in uproar over this as they can’t believe someone would steal a defibrillator.
“All I can is it could easily be one of their own family members looking for the nearest defibrillator one day and I hope the new one, when it’s set up, isn’t stolen.”
To find out more about the campaign and to donate, go to facebook.com/groups/CRYALEX
