Two charities from different sides of the world have connected via a ZOOM meeting this week. MISSEDABEAT (Mark - founder) and the creators of HeartCharged, a US charity, met to share stories. HeartCharged is a resuscitation advocacy and patient support charity co-founded by sisters Bethany & Hannah Keime. Read of for their story.
When HeartCharged connected with UK fine artist, Charlie Kirkham, another heart warrior, Sudden Cardiac Art was formed. And in September, they’ll be an inaugural event exhibition with artists from all over the world contributing! You’re all invited - see below for details.
The event is duly named the Sudden Cardiac Art Exhibition. It is truly a revolutionary art exhibition and advocacy event, aimed at increasing survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest and, perhaps just as important, sharing the heart warrior journey. Artists from all over the world will be showcasing their work. Wow!
The exhibition is running 2-30 September at the stately Kingshill House, Dursley, UK. There is a special community launch event 7 September 13:00 - 17:00.
Of particular importance is that Bethany and Hannah (and Charlie) share a vision that there needs to be a special focus on women receiving defibrillation; men are 1-1½ times more likely to receive bystander support.
To highl
To highlight the issues Hannah, Bethany and Charlie have become aware of, Mark shared that he recently hand over a defibrillator to his local Newton Aycliffe Under 10`s football team. He spoke to coaches and parents during the handover, highlighting his concerns around the fear/stigma of defibrillators being used during a cardiac arrest for ladies/females. The parents and coaches were all taken aback and seemed quite shocked.
MISSEDABEAT and HeartCharged exchanged stories and missions, which are very well aligned; it’s amazing at the distance of an awesome relationship across the miles. It was and is super exciting. Both charities are hugely passionate about placement of defibrillators around communities in the UK, USA and beyond.
Mark from MISSEDABEAT received a formal invitation to attend the launch event and is very excited to be part of the panel and engaging in a vibrant discussion with the audience. Come and join us!
Bethany loved the enthusiasm from Mark from MISSEDABEAT and cannot wait to meet him in person.
Where it all began......... Bethany and Hannah of "HeartCharged"
Once upon a time we were average high-school girls. Then we were diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which is better than not being diagnosed but not as good as not having it. We were extremely athletic and HCM is the #1 killer of student athletes. It is asymptomatic so it most often kills without warning. But we were screened and found out we had it.
We were immediately put on medications and made life-style changes so that our heart rates wouldn’t go up causing our hearts to fibrillate causing us to die. Then the condition got worse, and those precautions weren’t deemed enough, so we had defibrillators implanted. The device would shock our hearts if they went out of control. Of course, we still take medications and are careful how we live.
We are so grateful to have found out and be managing our conditions. With that gratitude, we are trying to warn the world. Childhood deaths from undiagnosed heart conditions are preventable. We can end them. But we need people prepared to act in an emergency and our children evaluated to discover these life-threatening conditions.
We want to stop preventable deaths. Prepare yourself and your community for a sudden cardiac emergency. Ensure heart conditions are found and treated.
It is bystanders’ quick actions of using an AED and performing CPR that make a crucial difference between life and death for a sudden cardiac arrest victim.
Yet people hesitate in many cases to take action for a woman.
We want people to decide now to give women the same chance to survive and use an AED or perform CPR anytime on anyone when it’s needed.
-
We are looking for local and national businesses to sponsor this amazing event and show their support for higher survival rates, care for heart patients, and concern for health equity for women. The exhibition and event will include an exclusive catalogue which will include the artwork on display. It is hoped that the artwork sales and donations will provide vital funds needed to help save lives.
We’re all passionate in supporting local communities. Any contribution would be warmly appreciated.
We’re looking forward to seeing you in Dursley. In the meantime, feel free to contact us;
MISSEDABEAT: email info@missedabeat.co.uk https://www.missedabeat.co.uk/
HeartCharged: bethany@getheartcharged.org https://www.getheartcharged.org/
SCArt: suddencardiacart@gmail.com
Comentarios