The story of a brilliant young man called Wilson Shepherd – and why reading this column might just save your life 

I’d like to dedicate this week’s column to a young man called Wilson Shepherd. I didn’t get to know Wilson, unfortunately. I only knew of him. I know I’d have liked him, though, because everyone did. He was that kind of chap. 

Wilson was the boyfriend of my niece, Isabella. They met at Loughborugh University. He was an impressive young man, who was fit, healthy, and worked at BAE Systems, where he was mid-way through a Master’sdegree. He never got to finish that qualification. 

He died three years ago last weekend. He was 25 years old. Isabella, whose family live in North West Leicestershire, lived apart from Wilson in the week but their weekends were full of adventure – travelling in camper vans, exploring, having the time of their lives. 

And then, suddenly, Wilson was dead. The night before he died, he’d been for a run, which is what he normally did. He was found the next day on his bed. He’d suffered a Sudden Arrhythmia Death (SAD) – a dangerous heart rhythm which stops the blood pumping – in his sleep. 

It goes without saying that this should never happen, that Wilson never got to live the life he deserved. His early death is far from an isolated case, however. More than 600 young people aged 14 to 35 die every year from an unknown cardiac condition. Screening helps but, at the moment, this is only available privately or via charities like CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young.) 

Every year, there are 40,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK. Fewer than 10 per cent of these survive. If those figures seem grim, then brace yourself – it’s a much darker picture here in North West Leicestershire. 

In our constituency, the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rate is 3.5% – a third of the national average. 

This genuinely shocked me when I became your MP and I wanted to know why. There’snot a single, simple-to-fix-solution to this, unfortunately. 

We are surrounded by hospitals – there are A&E departments in Leicester, Derby, Burtonand Nottingham – but, for most, they’re at least 30 minutes away. That time can be crucial. Every minute without CPR or a defibrillator lowers survival chances by 10%. While ambulance times have improved, it’s fair to say there is more work to be done to improve this situation. 

In Coalville, increased rates of COPD (bronchitis, emphysema) lead to more heart problems. There are higher rates of type two diabetes in pockets across the district. 

I didn’t know this before I was the MP for North West Leicestershire. But it’s something I feel determined to redress. 

One of the ways we can do that is to increase the number of defibrillators in the district. We’ve been pushing on this. You might have seen it on my Facebook or website. 

It’s paying off, too. Thanks to the work of my office and many others, the number of defibs in North West Leicestershire has increased by 25%, from 178 to 224, last year. 

But we need more. And it’s up to you tell us where we need them. 

So this week is the start of a Defib Dash, a district-wide awareness programme where we find out where the defibs are, and where we need them. 

How can you get involved? 

Do you know where your local defib is? Walk, or bike, or run, or scoot there. Don’t take the car. How far is it from your house? Your place of work? Your local pub or leisure activity? 

Let us know. The Defib Dash helps you know where your local defibrillator is and it lets us know where the gaps are, the so-called defib-deserts, and it ensures local devices are on the national wide register ‘The Circuit’. 

It’s just a bit of fun. Get the kids involved. Get the grandparents to join in. You can also attend one of several CPR demonstrations happening in the district. 

But what you find matters. It might just save your life one day.