They said
unfortunately sometimes these things happen. The body shuts down. It was so
unfair, he had everything to live for, he was just about to start living an
adult life, and was looking forward to the new found freedom that would
bring.
Within a year
and a half, on Thursday 20th December 2001, my youngest brother Jason, while
out enjoying a beer with friends, collapsed and died. Just as Ricky had
done.
Jason
was 22 years old. He had not been ill or complained of feeling unwell.
Although he had expressed how tired he’d felt at work during that day, he
had not struggled with his tasks. He had decided to have an early
night, however, a friend called and talked him into a couple of pints at the
local. His friend had broken up for the Christmas Holidays, though Jason had
work the following day, decided to go for the first couple of hours.
He left at
7pm, by 9pm that night he was dead. He had only 2 pints and didn’t even want
to stay to finish the 2nd, he told his friends he wasn’t feeling
well and wanted to go home, they agreed to leave soon, his friend was on the
fruit machine, Jason was beside him, suddenly he fell flat on his back, no
warning. I feel for his friend, it was obviously an unimaginable, traumatic
experience for him - his hurt runs very deep; I am glad were are still in
touch.
Jason was
probably the most physically fit among them. He never smoked, ran
regularly, used weights and played football; his job was physical. There
simply was no warning - CPR was attempted immediately, the medics were
prompt with their arrival. He was pronounced dead on arrival at New Cross
Hospital.
Post mortem
results were inconclusive, we were told to wait for further tests and
investigations to be carried out. Again, these all proved to be inconclusive
- history seemed to be repeating itself. I hoped they didn’t expect us to
accept that “unfortunately these things happen” a second time. After we
explained to the coroner about Ricky, she had in turn explained our
situation to the pathologist, who requested permission for Jason’s heart to
be referred on to a specialist in London, as there was nothing left to
investigate. We were assured a specialist would be able to tell us why Jason
had died.
Again the
results were inconclusive, the specialist confirmed all was normal. It was
then that our family were invited to the hospital in London to go on a gene
fault finding programme. We underwent a series of tests, and all wore a 24
hour heart monitor - this records your heart movements. They wanted to see
if there was any hint of a condition called Long QT. This is a genetic
condition, inherited electrical defect of the hearts rhythm, it can only be
detected in the living.
Our mother
showed signs of this condition, and was already on a beta-blocker. My sister
was advised to take a beta-blocker as a precautionary measure. Her remaining
sons will undergo regular monitoring, if any significant changes are visible
they will also be prescribed beta-blockers, as this condition is easily
treated and sudden death is preventable. In serious cases a
defibrillator can be fitted under the skin.
It is known
that two of my mother’s siblings have lost sons and grandsons. We have
endeavoured to ensure that all relatives of my mother’s bloodline are aware
of Long QT being evident in the family and hope this does not happen again.
There was
never a doubt in our family that Jason and I were the closest siblings.
They say the eldest and youngest share a special bond. I had gone to
hospital within a few hours of his birth. I was seventeen, and still
remember holding him for the first time. I had watched him grow into a
considerate, well-liked young man with many friends, many of whom were 10
years older than he - as he had an older well balanced wise head on his
shoulders - who didn’t suffer fools gladly.
He had worked
hard ever since leaving school, he enjoyed playing football at weekends and
love to sit in the pub. Jason always had a friendly smile, a beer and easy
conversation with his friends. Everyone who knew him, loved him.
He was a fiercely loyal friend, a knight in shining armour for some, a
loving son and simply the best, best wee brother in the world.
He touched
everyone’s heart who met him with his respectfulness, sincerity and sense of
fairness…I miss him terribly.
