I am running The Great South Run to raise funds and awareness for CRY, for the work they do with young people and families affected by cardiac conditions.

Since 2016, my brother has had two major heart surgeries after being diagnosed with Ebstein’s anomaly at the age of just 20 and last year suffered a cardiac arrest. The awareness that CRY raise for cardiac conditions in the young, including screening initiatives is truly lifesaving. Please read Regan’s story below:

Hello My name is Regan,

All my life I grew up considering myself to be a sporty individual who loved pushing himself to the limit in order to achieve my goals- be it academically or in terms of sport. I used to play football at club level when I was much younger but like most people made a switch from focusing on football to putting my efforts in to the gym instead. However, during my first year of University I visited the University GP to get a basic chest infection checked out, and upon leaving I mentioned that I sometimes experience blue lips when it is cold outside. This led to a referral from the GP to the local hospital in Nottingham. After months of testing I was eventually diagnosed with a congenital heart disease called Ebsteins anomaly, as well as having accessory pathways which caused an irregular heartbeat. Unbeknown me, this heart defect had been affecting me my entire life and I had no idea that I had it.

The decision to undergo two different surgical procedures the same year was made. The first was an ablation to eliminate the accessory pathways causing the heart palpitations. The second was open heart surgery to reposition my tricuspid valve, which was much lower down than it should have been. Both operations were successful.

Post op, I was told that my heart had not returned properly to its sinus rhythm, and with this the doctors advised they fit a pacemaker as a safety precaution, should my heart rhythm never return to Sinus rhythm. Fortunately it had, and with this I had the pacemaker as a back up and was allowed to live my life almost as normal as before- with the exception of some sports and pushing myself to hard.

Fast forward 10 months when I was working out in the gym one day and collapsed. Although I had not thought I was pushing my limits, I had had suffered from a cardiac arrest. It was at this moment that I needed urgent medical attention, otherwise I would have very little chance of survival.

Within 2 minutes Callum, Callum and James had arrived to give CPR for over 20 minutes and administer 3 shocks with a cardiac defibrillator. Eventually the ambulances had arrived, but by this point I had restarted breathing on my own again. I was then rushed to St George's hospital where my long road to recovery began. Miraculously, I managed to avoid any permanent damage to my brain and had only suffered short term memory loss for a number of days.

Nearly one year on from the event and I am back in work, have passed my driving test and am thinking about what my future holds for me, in terms of my career and travelling aspirations. Without Callum, Callum and James I would not be here today and am thankful everyday that they were on hand to provide CPR, and use the defibrillator on me.

The ordeal has really highlighted a number of things to me. The first is the importance of raising awareness of those at risk of a cardiac disease. CRY work towards providing echocardiagrams screenings to all young people aged between 14 and 35. I share their vision of preventing young sudden cardiac deaths through raising awareness of cardiac diseases, as if I had been more aware, the defect may have been picked up much earlier in my life.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and please donate generously to this great cause Harrison has chosen.

Every week in the UK at least 12 apparently fit and healthy young people die of undiagnosed cardiac conditions. With your donation, CRY can reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death (YSCD) by working with cardiologists and family doctors to establish good practice and appropriate screening facilities to promote and protect the cardiac health of our young. By supporting CRY you will help save young lives from these potentially fatal cardiac conditions. See how your support can help by visiting www.c-r-y.org.uk