Over £1,400 raised for London parkrun after remarkable actions saved runner’s life
Over £1,400 has been raised for Raphael parkrun in Romford after they have been praised more than a year on since their remarkable actions saved a runner’s life at their Saturday morning event.
Dr Sanjay was taking part in his 121st parkrun at Raphael Park on July 27th, 2024, when he suddenly collapsed whilst running 5k and suffered a cardiac arrest.
Within 40 seconds of his collapse, countless parkrun volunteers and bystanders had started CPR and fetched the defibrillator.
Thanks to the parkrun volunteers’ immediate and effective chest compressions, and their use of the defibrillator, his heart started beating again after nine minutes without a pulse.
While the paramedics and consultants on the scene had revived his heart, they told his wife, Aditi, that there was no way of knowing whether he would survive, or if he had suffered irreversible brain damage.
Despite his family being told to prepare the worst, Dr Sanjay made an incredible full recovery with no brain damage after a successful emergency heart procedure at St Bartholomew's Heart Centre in central London.
Over a year on, Aditi has praised the extraordinary work of the parkrun community who saved her husband’s life.
She said: “None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of our local Raphael parkrun community. Their up-to-date knowledge of basic life support, quick thinking, and access to a defibrillator gave my husband a second chance at life.”
To mark one year since that life-changing day, Dr Sanjay and Aditi hosted a coffee morning on August 3rd, raising funds for the Raphael parkrun and expressing their deepest gratitude to this incredible community. They raised an incredible £1,467 in charity donations for Raphael parkrun.
Aditi said: “It gives Sanjay and me immense satisfaction to give back, just a little, to the community that gave us so much. It was also a beautiful opportunity to meet so many lovely people and say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
parkrun is a free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event where you can walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate. To find out more about the charity and where your nearest event is, please visit parkrun.org.uk.