20 October 2023 , 17:11
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A mum whose teenage son died because the nearest defibrillator was locked away has installed 100 of the devices in his memory.
Jamie Rees, 18, suffered a cardiac arrest in the early hours of New Year’s Day in 2022, shortly after watching a firework display with friends. Heartbroken mum Naomi Rees-Issitt launched the Our Jay Foundation to fund more defibrillators. Yesterday, the charity installed its 100th defibrillator – its 10th in the centre of Jamie’s hometown of Rugby, Warks, making it the most heart-safe town in the country.
Naomi, 44, said: “We have been through hell and we don’t want that to happen to another family. You could hear Jamie’s friends on the 999 call, telling the operator there was a defibrillator inside their school, asking if they could break in to get it. That’s why we want to install as many defibrillators as possible in accessible cabinets, so people can get to them no matter what day or time it is. That’s the legacy Jamie deserves.”
Jamie's mum Naomi with defibrillator (SWNS)Doctors have never been able to explain what caused Jamie’s cardiac arrest. His best friend Josh performed CPR on him for almost 20 minutes until the ambulance arrived. Jamie never regained consciousness, but he lived long enough to donate his organs and save five lives.
His family – including dad Gavin and stepdad Jeremy, both 47, brother Callum, 23, and sister Myla, 10 – then began to raise money for defibrillators. They registered the Our Jay Foundation last October. Last week, Naomi and Jeremy returned from holiday to find their car had been destroyed in the fire at Luton Airport. That day, they installed their 99th machine in Newquay, Cornwall.
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Backing the Mirror’s fight to make defibrillators available in all public spaces, Naomi added: “It is wonderful that the Government has promised to install defibrillators in schools, but we are urging them to take that final step.”