Southampton: Young cardiac arrest victims remembered in mural
A charity is calling for more funding to research sudden cardiac death
Last updated 17th Jun 2024
A mural of two young Southampton fans lost to sudden cardiac arrest has been unveiled opposite St Mary's stadium.
Claire Reed, 22, and Danny Singh Rathor, 27, died suddenly despite being fit and healthy.
Claire from Botley died in March 2013, five months after she married the love of her life Andy.
Before she died, Claire developed a love for football and attended Southampton games with Andy and his family, who were season ticket holders.
The mural also shows Sukhwinder Singh Rathor, known to his loved ones as Danny, who died in March 2009.
The father of one was a lifelong Southampton fan and played football twice a week with friends and colleagues.
The mural highlights the 12 young people under the age of 35 who die every week due to sudden cardiac death in the UK.
Claire, who worked as an accountant, was enjoying a spa break with friends when tragedy struck.
After a swim, Claire joined her friends in the jacuzzi and began to feel ill. She then collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest.
Claire’s father, Graham Hunter, was at home with his wife, Anne, when he learnt his daughter was critically ill.
He said: "The A&E consultant said it wasn’t looking good and we needed to come immediately.
"My wife and I drove through the night to get to the hospital. It was the worst journey of our lives. When we got to the hospital, I knew from the language the doctor used that Claire had passed away.
"We were taken to see Claire and we stayed with her until we could compose ourselves.
"Claire’s brother, Peter, was overseas at the time travelling with work. He and his sister were very close. Telling him what had happened was the hardest phone call we’ve ever had to make.
"I don’t know how we coped. It was such a shock. You don’t expect your child to die before you. We kept asking why?”
Claire never showed any indication that something could be wrong with her heart.
Graham, and Claire’s brother Peter have since been diagnosed with the inherited heart condition Brugada Syndrome and have been fitted with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) as a precaution.
Doctors believe Claire may have had the condition too.
Danny was driving home from playing football with his friends. Though it’s unclear what happened, it’s thought that he pulled over after feeling unwell.
He was later found dead outside his car.
Danny’s brother, Bhadur, said: "After it happened, I was consumed by anger. This shouldn’t have happened to Danny, he was young, healthy and had his whole life ahead of him.
"But as time has gone on, I’ve had to learn to accept it. You can’t go on being angry forever because it would destroy me, and I know Danny wouldn’t want me to live my life like that.
"It really helps being able to talk about Danny, to share his story and to keep his memory alive.
"Every year I’ll meet up with his friends at the spot where he passed. Then we pop to the pub and just share memories of Danny.
"We’ve also organised a lot of football tournaments in his name and raise money for BHF.
"I’m so pleased that Danny is going to be part of this BHF campaign – it’s just another part of his legacy."
The British Heart Foundation is calling for more funding into research to understand the causes, and find cures, for sudden cardiac death.