A heartbroken mother has shared the moment her 5-year-old daughter tragically passed away because there was no defibrillator at the girl’s school.
Claire Page, 40, said her daughter Lilly May Page-Bowden suffered a cardiac arrest in the playground.
Off-duty nurses, who were other children’s parents present at the scene, started performing CPR on Lilly but they could no longer be saved.
Claire believes her daughter would still be alive if the school had a defibrillator.
She is now supporting the Mirror’s campaign to make defibrillators a legal requirement not only in schools but also in public places.
“It needs to be made law. Defibrillators should be as accessible as fire extinguishers and smoke alarms. Lilly-May’s heart was shockable, so a defibrillator would have saved her if there was one nearby,” she expressed.
“Had there been one at school my princess would still be alive today.”
Lilly May suffered a cardiac arrest at Willow Bank infant school in Woodley, Berks. She collapsed after telling her mother: “Look how fast I can run.”
The grieving mother continued: “She had come out of her classroom and ran 30 yards in front of me before collapsing on the ground.
“Ambulances aim to arrive in eight minutes when someone collapses, the paramedics made it in seven. But when you have a cardiac, every minute reduces your chance of survival by 10 per cent.
“Eight minutes is far too long – that only leaves you a 20 per cent chance of life.”
It was then discovered that the little girl had a condition that causes an irregular heart rhythm. Claire, a single mother, did not know anything about defibrillators or CPR at the time of Lilly May’s death.
But after the devastating incident, she completed first aid courses and started fundraising to install the life-saving devices in schools.
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