My name is Sophie Popplewell and I am an IT Manager at Scan Film or Store at Woodlands Court Business Park in Bridgwater. On the 17th November 2018 I had a sudden cardiac arrest in front of my 2 year old daughter at our home. Luckily my husband was at home and gave me CPR for 15 minutes before the ambulance arrived and used a defibrillator to shock my heart. I was taken to The Bristol Heart Institute where my family were told I had a 50% chance of surviving. I was in a coma for 3 days in intensive care and spent a further 2 weeks in hospital recovering. I was also fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) should it ever happen to me again.

I made a full recovery but no cause was ever found for my cardiac arrest. A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time and very often to healthy people with no known heart problems or risk factors.The chances of surviving an out of hospital cardiac arrest are 8%. Survival rates dramatically improve with effective CPR and early AED intervention, so being aware of the nearest AED to you is critical.

If defibrillated within the first minute of collapse, the victim's chances of survival are close to 90 percent. For every minute defibrillation is delayed, survival decreases by 7 percent to 10 percent. If it is delayed by more than 10 minutes, the chance of survival in adults is less than 5 percent.

Defibrillators should be everywhere! This issue is very close to our hearts and this is why, to celebrate our 10th year in business, Scan Film or Store are raising money to buy a public access defibrillator for Woodlands Court Business Park in Bridgwater. With so many new businesses and so much development happening in our area, this equipment is essential to give people the best chances of survival should the worst happen.

Any extra money we raise will be donated to SADS UK a charity which supports research into Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome and works to highlight cardiac risk in the young through to middle age. They also fund lifesaving equipment for communities. Thank you for reading.