Marilyn Wetston, who mentioned me on her Sunday morning AM740 radio show, has invited me to sign books at her monthly Women for Women Event on Saturday, May 24th. I’ll be there from noon to 3:00 pm, signing books and, even more importantly, helping to raise funds for the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s AED mission: a portion of the sale of every copy of Lifeliner will go towards purchasing a defibrillator for the Spadina-Queen community.
In an effort to save lives, the Heart and Stroke Foundation has set up a program to place defibrillators in public places everywhere. A defibrillator is the small piece of equipment that is often the difference between a heart restarting or staying still after a heart attack. And timing in using a defibrillator is key in making the odds lean towards a restart. So many times we’ve heard a person has died for lack of a defibrillator nearby. Marilyn aims to change that in her community.
She has set her goal to raise $4,000 to purchase a defibrillator as part of the Foundation’s ReStart a Heart, Restart a Life AED program. The Foundation’s initial goal was to place 1,000 units across Ontario. As of May 2nd, they’ve doubled that goal, and I hope to surpass that goal just a little bit more, but like every little bit, a crucial bit.
“According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, in Canada, about 40,000 people experience cardiac arrest each year; 7,000 cardiac arrests occur in Ontario alone. The odds of survival for an out-of hospital cardiac arrest are approximately five per cent. With each passing minute, the probability of survival declines by seven-to-10 per cent. Using an AED, combined with CPR within the first few minutes, can improve survival rates from five per cent to 50 per cent or more.”
So please come out to the Women for Women Event on May 24th, say hello, and help us reach Marilyn and the Foundation’s goal, help us save lives.
