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It
was a familiar routine. As
keen footballer Craig Rampton left the house to meet up with his
team-mates for another match, his mother Sherralyn called out goodbye.
She’d
be waiting when he got back to ask him how he’d played and who had won.
But he never did return. It
was to be the last time she spoke to him.
 The
fit, energetic 20-year-old who loved football collapsed during the match.
Despite
frantic efforts to resuscitate him, he died later in hospital.
It
was December 7 1997 and the Rampton family were devastated.
So were his friends, who renamed the football team Rampton Rangers
in his honour. What made it
even worse was the mystery surrounding his death.
What had happened to rob them of an apparently healthy young man?
Today
they know that Craig was a tragic victim of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome
(SADS) – the same condition that caused Cameroon football star Marc
Vivien Foe to die while playing for his country last year.
The
28-year-old collapsed during a Confederation Cup semi-final against
Colombia in France.
His
death hit the headlines in the same way as that of 15-year-old Daniel
Yorath, son of the former Wales football manager, Terry, and brother of TV
presenter Gaby. In 1992 the
promising footballer collapsed and died after enjoying a kick-about with
his father in the garden.
It
has taken Craig’s family years to come to terms with his loss and to
find out what was to blame for his premature death.
Mrs
Rampton, of Paulsgrove, says: “Craig’s death left
us completely numb and with so many questions.
It was only through the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY)
that I found out about SADS.”
SADS,
a term for the many different causes of cardiac arrest claims the lives of
up to eight apparently healthy adults every week in the UK. CRY aims to raise awareness of possible heart problems in the
young.
The
tragedy of young lives lost was brought home last month when 13-year-old
Emma Carter from Hayling Island collapsed and died while staying at a
friend’s house. Tests
revealed that she had a congenital heart condition.
Families
of SADS victims have welcomed the setting up of a new body to raise
awareness and advise the Department of Health.
The
group will be chaired by the National Clinical Director for Heart Disease,
Dr Roger Boyle, voluntary and professional organisations including the CRY
charity and the British Cardiac Society will be invited to join patients
and families of patients will have a strong voice.
The
establishment of the body could lead to a new National Service Framework
chapter setting out the standards of care for SADS.
Alison
Cox, founder and chief executive of CRY says: “The announcement will
save young lives. It is a
huge relief.”
“The
sudden death of an apparently fit and healthy young person is absolutely
devastating to a family, but this is very encouraging.”
CRY
recommends that those who have suffered a young sudden death in the family
should request an ultrasound heart scan.
It
also advises young people who experience chest pain when exercising,
breathlessness, palpitations, dizziness and fainting to contact their
doctor.
Mrs
Rampton believes that if Craig had received a heart scan, he would be
alive today.
She
says: “This is a big step in the right direction and I think it will put
SADS on the map which is important. The
important thing is that people are made aware of the condition so that it
can be prevented. This new
development goes some way to doing that.”
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