Our Aim
To provide cardiac patients of Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network with a mobile ECG unit when they leave hospital.
We also aim to share information about Congenital heart disease, life saving devices, skills and resources. We are not experts in any of these fields and are aware there is a huge range of information on the topics. We have selected to share the following providers because of our personal connection to them.
Heart Kids is an Australian not for profit charity dedicated to supporting people effected by congenital heart disease. They also fund research and provide information.
‘Congenital heart disease is the most common congenital disorder in newborns. The birth rate prevalence of congenital heart disease is understood to be approximately 8 – 10 cases per 1,000 births. In Australia, there are approximately 2,400 – 3,000 babies born each year with a form of congenital heart disease.’
CellAED
When one of Archies school friends Aunty had a cardiac arrest, she was lucky to survive as there was help and a Defibrillator nearby. The survival rate for a sudden cardiac arrest globally is less than 3% and the time it takes to get a defibrillator to the patient is crucial. Her family were so affected by this traumatic experience they decided to focus on the research and creation of a small, fully portable and affordable automated external defibrillator.
Not yet available in Australia as the device is awaiting regulatory approval we hope that one day this device will be accessible to everyone, and combined with the knowledge of what to do in the case of a cardiac arrest, will save many people’s lives.
‘Our goal is to close the survival gaps and change what happens during the minutes that count. By creating a portable, fully-integrated, automated external defibrillator, we aim to close the gap with an affordable and readily available solution by introducing CellAED® to the world.’
www.rapidresponserevival.co.nz
Surf Life Saving Australia & The Australian Lifeguard Service
As anyone who knew Archie knows, he LOVED the beach. He surfed, swam, snorkelled, and got slammed by ‘shoreis’, all year round. We are very lucky to live by a beach patrolled by lifeguards from Surf Lifesaving Australia and The Australian Lifeguard Service we hoped that if ever he or any of his mates needed help they were not far away.
On the day of his cardiac Arrest the lifeguards from Bronte Beach were able to, against all odds, get him breathing and his heart going. Tragically he did not regain consciousness and he passed away in hospital 5 days later. Those 5 days will always be incredibly special to our family and we will be forever grateful to the Lifeguards and emergency crew who worked together for our boy that day.
We would encourage everyone to have qualifications in CPR First Aid. We would also encourage Australian beachgoers to support Surf Lifesaving Australia. They are an incredible resource and along with the Australian Lifeguard Service are an integral part of our coastal community.
‘With over 30 years’ experience, the Australian Lifeguard Service (ALS) NSW is one of the largest providers of lifeguard services in the Southern Hemisphere. Currently our network provides services to over 90 individual locations, 15 local government authorities, 1 resort, 2 national parks, and with ongoing expansion we employ seasonally in excess of 330 lifeguards each year’.
Losing our Archie has been an incredibly difficult life experience. Throughout everything we have always felt supported by our family, friends and community. We want to thank you all for everything you have done for us, you have given us strength and courage.
The Hearts 4 Arch not for profit is a part of our own healing process. We know Archie is with us, encouraging us to do something for others, for the families of Heart Kids who are sharing some of our life experiences. We could not have done this project on our own, there are many people we would like to thank. The key people are Elsa Presslaber, for your patience in putting together the logo Mimi designed and sharing your graphic design skills. Lou Guy and Jehad Hawli, thank you for getting the business side of things sorted. OCC Apparel, we are so happy to have quality merchandise that is thoughtfully produced. Jonah Zeiderman - JZ Photos , the man behind the camera. You are the reason we have so many fantastic photos of Archie surfing, we will treasure them forever. Thank you for taking the photos of the Hearts 4 Arch Merchandise they are, as always perfect! Imby Langenbach , what’s the saying?, ‘Ask a busy person to get something done….’! We mentioned we had to build a website and before we knew it you had put it all together. You are an amazing friend and we can’t thank you enough for compiling something that was far beyond our skill set.
To all who contributed to Archies Go Fund Me when he passed away, thank you. It is with those funds that we have been able to create Hearts 4 Arch.
Mimi, James & Nicola
