Family of North Derbyshire man who died from sudden cardiac arrest push for 'more defibs'
23-year-old Tom Henson died back in 2018
The family of a North Derbyshire man - who died in 2018 after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing football with friends - tell us 'more defibrillators are still needed'.
23-year-old Tom Henson collapsed at Gosforth Playing Fields in Dronfield six years ago - & since then his parents have helped to get an 34 extra defibs set up.
Tom's mum - Nikki O'Halloran - tells us they're not done yet though:
"We're aiming to keep raising funds to put some more defibs out there.
"Even if it just saves one person's life, then that's a big achievement.
"It just means that somebody else then doesn't have to go through what we have to go through on a daily basis.
"It's not something that you ever get over, you just learn to live with it.
"Some days are easier than others, but it never goes away."
Shaun O'Halloran is Tom's stepdad:
"The majority of the defibs are accessible 24/7, which is the ideal scenario really.
"So, if someone rings 999, the ambulance call handler will direct to the nearest defibrillator, and these things really do save lives.
"The statistics are awful, that there are 12 young people - under the age of 35 - per week - who pass away as a result of sudden cardiac death in the UK.
"That's over 600 lives lost per year."
A mural of Tom was put up in Chesterfield during Euro 2024 by the British Heart Foundation to raise further awareness of sudden cardiac death.