As you may know, Bill Shackman, 47 years young, had a severe heart attack on December 8, 2020, while surfing on East Sands in St Andrews, the UK. Thanks to the heroic intervention by fellow surfers and beach bystanders - some with professional medical training - his life was saved and he is now well on the road to recovery. Great thanks go to, among others, Mitch in the lead, Craig, George, Lewis and Oliver. Bill's save has hit close to home in St Andrews, both with the general community and among the other surfers Bill surfs with on occasion.  

Bill's survival is due in part to the location of an AED next to the nearby Cheesy Toast Shack and the prompt response of a local Scottish Ambulance Service and its two excellent technicians. Thank you to Operation Heart Start for managing this defibrillator. 

After he was stabilised at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, he discovered he had a serious genetic heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Now that it has been diagnosed it can be managed. 

It is surprisingly common - about 1 in 500 people suffer from it but often it has no noticeable symptoms before it strikes. Not everybody is as lucky as Bill was. 

We are raising money for the British Heart Foundation to support its research into this condition. 

It's only thanks to support from people like you that the BHF can create new treatments and discover cures for conditions such as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Every pound helps so please give what you can to help us hit our target. Thanks!