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Eamonn
Chipperfield-Carr, aged 34, of Wheelers Lane, Kings Heath, had shown no signs of
illness, played football regularly and three days before his death had enjoyed
an 18-hole round of golf.
But
50 minutes after saying goodbye to his wife Julie and setting off on his daily
sandwich delivery round, he was found slumped at the wheel of his car by a
postman.
Desperate
attempts by paramedics and a passing doctor to revive him failed,
Initially
it was thought he been involved in a road accident, but tests later showed he
had died from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart.
The
condition is one of 11 major causes of Sudden Death Syndrome in young people
which is estimated to claim four lives each week in the UK.
Eamonn’s
widow Julie said: “The night before we had celebrated our wedding anniversary
and there was no sign of anything wrong.
“Even
when I said goodbye to him
when
he set off the next morning he was fine, he didn’t even have a cold. No-one
can believe happened.”
Julie
is now campaigning to raise awareness of Sudden Death Syndrome and CRY, a
support group for the families of victims which is helping her to cope with her
grief following Eamonn’s death last September.
CRY,
which stands for Cardiac Risk in the Young, is calling for a national heart
screening programme for young people to prevent such tragedies and funding
research.
Julie
said: “According to CRY around four people each week die in the UK from
cardiac abnormalities, most of which are preventable.
“Eamonn’s
problem could have been caused by a virus but the condition can also be
hereditary.
“It’s
a rare problem and I don’t want to frighten people, but if one life can be
saved through raising people’s awareness of Sudden Death Syndrome then all the
letter writing and fund-raising will be worth it.”
Julie
has set up a memorial fund in her husband’s name to support CRY, which
has
Olympic rowing champion Steve Redgrave as one of its patrons. She is currently
organising a raffle
which
has already raised more than
£400
for its work.
Anyone
wanting to contact the memorial fund or CRY can do so on 01737 363 222
catherinehendrick@mrn.co.uk
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