After a while he appeared at the cubicle door
telling the nurse that he had a throbbing headache, and then he collapsed
again. They were the last words he spoke.
Obviously we were left devastated and the hardest
thing was the seven month wait for a cause - then to be told 'unascertained' but
pointing to SADS.
I was like a zombie - just existing each day and
going through the motions - until I came upon the idea to fundraise for CRY.
This would mean Stephen would not have died in vain, if I could help other young
people survive this silent killer.
We started by opening a page on justgiving and so far we have raised £4247.32p
plus £476.41 in Gift Aid. The next thing we did was organise a memorial disco,
which was held in August 2007. We rallied around all the local shops and
hotels and collected donations for an auction, a raffle and lots more. We also
had a bag packing day at Marks & Spencers and have done lots and lots of boot
sales.
My friends, and even strangers on my family tree site Genes Reunited, helped a
lot. Diane and her friend did the CRY eight bridges walk in 2007 and raised
lots - and her employers then matched her amount. NPower made a calendar and
donated the some of the proceeds to CRY. We had home made cards donated
which I sold and added more to the justgiving site. My son Robert and his
wife Cattrina are doing a bungee jump as is Diana Hennis from Genes Reunited.
We will continue to raise both money and awareness of this silent killer and try
our best to help save lots and lots of lives.
My nephew was tested and proved positive and has had a defibrillator fitted. My
Uncle (50), Mother (64), Brother (58) and my Grandson (just a few months old)
all died the same way - I am convinced this is connected to SADS.
Gillian Shield
