Run for Dan

In the early hours of Thursday 9th March 2017, my younger brother Danny, passed away in his sleep from an undiagnosed heart condition called Brugada syndrome. He was just 25 years old.

I was only 13 months old when Dan was born, so I never remembered a day of my life without him being part of it. We were inseparable as kids and even as we became adults, the bond between us continued to grow, as we shared interests in many things, the main one being avid supporters to our local East London football team, West Ham United where we travelled up and down the country together supporting our team. I never for one moment imagined I'd ever have to live a life without him. Dan was a fun loving, social, young, fit and healthy guy who lived life to the full, so the shock of his sudden death literally smashed our family into pieces.

It took nearly six months after Dan's passing, before we were told the exact cause of his death and due to the nature of it, the entire family had to undergo heart testing as most of these conditions are hereditary. There are many different types of heart arrhythmias that cause sudden death in otherwise healthy individuals, and most of them are treatable once detected. Tragically, in the UK alone, statistics show that between the ages of 14 and 35, 12 healthy individuals die of an undiagnosed heart condition EVERY WEEK!!! That's just in the UK! Think how many lives are lost each week in Canada, North America or globally!

Sadly, for some individuals, the first symptom of a heart arrhythmia, will also be their last. 80% of undiagnosed heart conditions will result in sudden death, whereas with early detection and treatment, 80% will survive.

Since 2017, my family have raised thousands of pounds in Danny's memory, raising awareness and purchasing defibrillators to place in local communities which will help save lives. I moved to Canada with my partner Nicole, two years after losing Dan and have decided it's time to do my bit for him whilst here in Canada, so I am taking part in the Toronto half marathon this October!

Marathon running isn't something I've done before, however I have agreed to run and hopefully raise funds for SADS CANADA. This charity raises awareness for sudden adult death, supports families and provides bereavement counselling for families affected by those young unsuspecting people living with heart conditions in Canada.

So please, please if you would like to donate, any amount you can however big or small, every little helps to make a difference and save a young persons life. You never imagine that a tragedy will strike your family, you can't prepare for something like that but helping charities like SADS Canada we can help prevent the unnecessary sudden deaths of fit and healthy young people in and all across Canada!

Thank you,

Steve

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Danny - Australia 2014