It was on the afternoon of our first screening day that 17 year old Lucy Smith arrived for her appointment; Lucy’s  Mum Tracey takes up the story……

 

"On 3rd September 2016, I arranged for my daughter Lucy aged 17 to attend a CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) heart screening event at Sir Thomas Boughey High School. Although Lucy was perfectly fit and healthy, I still wanted to take the opportunity to get her screened. On arriving at the school, Lucy was given an ECG which showed abnormalities within the chambers of her heart. This was then repeated and an ECHO was taken. The doctor then explained that Lucy was in complete heart block and needed to go to A&E immediately. Following another ECG at hospital, Lucy was admitted to the Cardiac Unit where her heart was constantly monitored. The doctors there explained that she would need to have a pacemaker fitted to stop her heart rate dropping to the dangerous level where it could stop beating. They recommended the new ‘Micra’ pacemaker which sits directly within the heart. Lucy had the surgery on the morning of the 14th September – it was a complete success and she recovered well, leaving hospital that same night. Initially she did experience some severe chest pains, however this eventually settled down. Lucy soon returned to her studies at South Cheshire College and now leads a fully normal life.

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Lucy’s opportunity to be screened through CRY was made possible by the ‘Dan Hughes Memorial Fund’, and particularly the funds raised by Dan’s parents Sue and Dave.

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As a family we believe that this fundraising and screening saved our Lucy’s life."

 

Lucy says, "The support from CRY and Dan's family was amazing. I think both the screening and the raising awareness is so important to young people and I would encourage everyone to get involved in any way they can. I am unbelievably grateful that my condition was diagnosed and treated without too many problems, and that I can now lead a normal life again."

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                                             Click on the PDF to read the article from the Sentinel