|
 Estimated £20,000
raised from just one event
Crusaders are stepping up
their fight against killer heart conditions, which target the young.
Jeff Morland became a
driving force behind the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) after his
son Levon died in his sleep aged 22.
The top trade union official set up the Levon Morland Memorial Fund for
Cry, which aims to research sudden death in the young and set up proper
heart screening.
The fund nudged towards the £70,000 mark last Friday when an estimated £20,000
was raised at a dinner and sports auction at St James’s Park.
Cry fund-raiser Jack Doyle said: “People are so generous.
It was a fantastic night. “I’m always looking for new
ideas and if we can’t get Government backing we might approach firms to
make annual donations towards screening, which costs £35 per child.
“We already have a
scheme in Teesside and anything detected is referred to a specialist in
Leeds.
“It’s aimed at active
sporty children because they’re most at risk.”
Levon’s dad Jeff from
West Rainton said: “Currently the Government won’t support heart
screening, but we believe the problem of youngsters dying from undetected
heart complaints is much bigger than official statistics show.
“We have to prove the
problem exists, because the sad fact is most of these conditions are
curable. Officially up to
eight kids die every week, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it were three
times that amount.
“If there are no
suspicious circumstances, sudden deaths are often put down to natural
causes.”
Cry is funding a research
fellow to study conditions such as Wolfe Parkinson White, which killed
Levon.
It also has the support of a cross-party group of MPs including
former Sunderland councillor Dari Taylor, MP for Stockton South, who is
backing a bill for a formal youth heart-screening programme.
Levon,
a popular young footballer, died at the family home in School Avenue after
a night out with brother Aran. A
former holiday rep, he had applied to go on Big Brother and was working at
a call centre at the time of his death.
Friends and work colleagues have since worked tirelessly to raise
money in his memory.
|
