A Middlesbrough mum offers free heart checks to young people after losing her son
Teesside teenagers are being urged to take up health screenings, after a Linthorpe mum lost her son.
Teesside teenagers are being urged to take up health screenings, after a Linthorpe mum lost her son.
Karen Campbell is working with the charity CRY to spread free heart checks across Teesside,
It's after her son James died, aged 16, from undetected heart failure, which a scan might have foreseen.
“The reason I do what I’m doing is I don’t want any other family to go through it.
“It’s just wrong, when it’s something so very simple.
“Potentially, had we known about CRY and had we had the opportunity, James might still be with us now.
“The sad thing is, and the thing that really frustrates me is the Government don’t see that 12 young people a week is significant.
“Cause there are 12 deaths in the UK a week – and they are preventable.”
Despite appearing fit and healthy, Harry Potter fan James Campbell died in his sleep as the result of an undiagnosed heart condition in 2013.
Karen is determined no other parents go through the same experience she and her family went through;
“Your heart’s been ripped out and your world’s been turned upside down and you’re not expecting it.
“It’s just the worst possible thing. Just horrid, you can’t explain it, you feel like you’ve had something ripped out of you.”
In the UK it’s estimated that an average of 12 young people a week die from young sudden cardiac death.
Through fundraising and donations given at James’ funeral, Karen raised enough money to offer 400 free heart screenings in Middlesbrough, offered to people between 14-35.
The first screenings by CRY took place at the Resource Centre on Meath Street in Middlesbrough, with around 200 young people attending over the weekend.
Screening involves a painless, non-invasive examination of the heart using an ECG (electrocardiograph) and, if necessary, an echo-cardiogram.
The screenings cost CRY £35 per person, while having the tests done privately would cost the patient £80 for an ECG and approximately £220 for an Echo-cardiogram.
There are seven types of heart defect that can be detected via the very simple screening method, picking up a potentially life-threatening heart condition in about one in 300 young people.
The next screening sessions have been set up for April 11-12 during the Easter holidays at James’ former school Macmillan. Although fully booked, Karen is urging others to add their name to a reserve list to replace anyone who fails to keep their appointment.
And she’s now looking to raise more cash to enable CRY to hold more sessions at the Resource Centre on May 20-21.
To book on the reserve list for CRY’s heart screening sessions at Macmillan Academy on April 11-12 or the next sessions at the Resource Centre on May 20-21, call CRY on01737363222or emailcry@c-r-y.org.uk.
To support James’ fund you can donate to CRY through the DONATE option -http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/If you mark donations in memory of James Campbell the money will go towards paying for more screenings on Teesside.
Karen told us;
“Teenagers think they’re indestructible, they think it will never happen to them, but if these screenings make a difference to even one family then that will make it all worthwhile. I would love for James to be remembered for saving even one life after his death but hopefully we can save many more.”
“This is just my way of paying tribute to James – he deserves it. At some point in his life he’d have been making a difference, so it’s not surprising he’s doing even after his death.”