NEW defibrillators have been delivered to each of Annandale’s secondary schools this week.
The Automated External Defibrillators (AED) were presented by Roger and Lesley Hill, of the DH9 Foundation, to Annan Academy, Langholm Academy, Lockerbie Academy and Moffat Academy on Tuesday as part their effort to raise awareness of young sudden cardiac death (YSCD).
The cause is very dear to Rodger as his son David passed away unexpectedly during a rugby match between Irish and Scottish parliamentarians in March 2022. Since then the family have gone to great lengths to raise awareness of the condition and to fund free cardiac screenings through charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).
The DH9 Foundation is Rodger and Lesley’s latest tribute to David, bearing his initials and the number he wore as a scrum-half on the rugby field. It is committed to improving the cardiac health of young people under the age of 35.
Each of the new devices will be stored in each school’s PE department or main offices.
The foundation will also be offering free CPR training to schools and community partners as part of their attempts to improve the chain of survival in cases of out of hospital cardiac arrest.
Speaking to this paper following their visits on Tuesday, Rodger said: “Today has been a very emotional day, it’s been a journey get to this point where we are actually delivering the defibs.
“For us it’s all about improving the chain of survival, from when a person collapses there’s two minutes to intervene to maximise that person’s chance of survival and having defibs in schools is part of that.
“After all the defibs have been delivered, we’ll be offering free CPR training to schools and continue to offer the free cardiac screenings so we can honour David’s memory and make something positive out of a traumatic event.”
