Since losing their son to an undiagnosed heart condition eight years ago, Barry and Gillian Wilkinson have channelled their grief into saving other young lives in his memory.
Through their charity, The Daniel Wilkinson Foundation, the couple and their family have helped fund life-saving heart screenings for more than 1,300 young people, in the hope of preventing other families from experiencing their loss.
Their 24-year-old son, Daniel, had just started a new job and moved in with his girlfriend when he collapsed while playing football in September 2016 – a sport he had loved his entire life.
Tests later revealed that Daniel’s death was caused by an underlying condition called Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) – a disease that weakens the heart’s structure and can lead to Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD).
“Had a screening been available to Dan two or three months before that night in September then it would have picked up his condition,” adds Barry. “It could have saved his life.”
Anyone aged 14 to 35 who wants to book a free heart screening can do so on CRY’s Test My Heart Website.
