Community Defibrillator in memory of Andrew Dixon

Hello All

Thank you for taking the time out to visit this page. As you may or may not know, July 2019 saw our family's world torn apart by the sudden illness and subsequent loss of Andrew; our amazing husband, dad, son, brother and uncle. Andrew was, and still is loved by so many and right now he would have been excited (and a little bit horrified) at the prospect of turning the big 4-0 on 2nd June 2022.

Sadly he will not be able to share this milestone event with his friends and family, a stark reminder of how he was taken far too soon. I thought it would be fitting to complete something in his memory and mark his special birthday so over the past few months I have been in contact with North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) and Darlington Council about organising for a defibrillator to be placed somewhere in our local area.

A cPAD (community public access defibrillator) is available to members of the public, 24 hours a day, to use in the case of a life threatening emergency and could therefore potentially save lives in the future. I am aware that this will be no mean feat and there is a lot more to the organisation than I initially realised, but I am keen to try and with the support of family and friends will do my upmost to make this happen.

The location of the defibrillator is TBC, however information from NEAS about local demand/supply means that it is likely to be somewhere in our local postcode area (DL1), however I am still waiting for the businesses contacted through our local MP to come back to me. I know that Covid-19 will have had a big impact on support with this however my hope is that by starting the ball rolling now it will give plenty of time to fundraise whilst the precise location is being determined. Anything is possible with a little effort and who knows, hopefully come his 41st birthday there could be a defibrillator in place and in use!

If you can spare anything towards this cause or want to lend a hand in anyway I would be extremely grateful of any support offered. I have already signed up for my first event which will take place in June 2022; a Platinum Jubilee 70 mile challenge. The aim is to complete the 70 miles within the month through walking/running or cycling. There are a few other plans being hatched up too so watch this space and keep checking in for updates. Thank you in advance for the love and support!

XxX ❤️ XxX