Defibrillator to be set up in Stenhousemuir thanks to crowdfunding campaign
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Keeping Larbert and Stenhousemuir Beautiful (KLSB) last week asked locals to support the organisation as it sought to stump up the £2070 needed to pay for the life-saving technology.
The defibrillator will be kept inside Stenhouse TOA Taxis’ office in Main Street for easy access.
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Hide AdJohn McMorran, KLSB chairman, said: “We are not going to wait for the funds to be released before buying this equipment as we have funds at hand that we can use in the meantime.”
So successful was its fundraising drive, the group is carrying on the campaign, with the aim of generating enough cash to fit another defibrillator at The Valley Shop in Ladeside Crescent.
KLSB said the idea to fund a 24/7 defibrillator in the area had been in the pipeline for weeks, however, members cranked the pace up a notch after watching on in horror as Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest during his nation’s opening Euro 2020 match.
A defibrillator, which gives a high-energy electric shock to the heart, helped to save the 29-year-old’s life.
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Hide AdWhile the Stenhousemuir area already boasts two defibrillators, KLSB felt the lack of an all-hours piece of equipment needed addressed.
Speaking last week, Mr McMorran said: “What happened to Christian Eriksen brought it to the forefront.
“The incident spurred us on even more. Eriksen was very fortunate because if there wasn’t a defibrillator at hand, it could’ve been a lot worse for him.
“It showed me what I already knew: the sooner you get these pieces of equipment to someone having an attack, the better. That’s why we wanted to get it in the heart of the community.
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Hide Ad“We have one at Day-Today in Alloa Road but that’s still a fair distance away. There’s one in the Dobbie Hall but it closes at 5pm and we wanted to make it public 24/7.
“Anyone who’s never had any CPR training can use it. It tells you when to do chest pumps and speed up or slow down, then it’ll monitor the heart and if it needs to give somebody an electric shock, it tells you to stand back.”