OUR 'WHY'
​On 29th January 2022, Fulham Football Club's home match against Blackpool FC was paused in the 11th minute. The pause was due to my lovely Dad, Paul Alan Parish, suffering a cardiac arrest in the Hammersmith End shortly after celebrating one of the season's many Aleksandar Mitrovic goals.
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Out of the blue, my Dad; a busy, active, fit, happy, healthy man who didn't suffer as much as a cold in his life, collapsed without warning. It was a shock to us all; those who knew and loved him and those all around the ground. We were terrified; we didn't know what to do or how to help him.
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Thankfully, there were off-duty police officers and medics in the crowd, who, almost instantly and heroically, came to our aid when they could see that Dad needed help. Performing CPR and using a defibrillator to get his heart beating again, these wonderful heroes worked tirelessly on my Dad for 40 minutes. Dad was able to leave Craven Cottage for the last time to a standing ovation, his heart faintly beating and still conscious. At this point there was still hope for a positive outcome.
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Moments before Dad was carried into the waiting ambulance outside the ground, Dad had a second, fatal cardiac arrest. In truth, I knew we had lost him at that moment. I could see it in his face as I stood, fearfully, beside him. Dad's heart beat for the final time outside turnstile 46 - the very gate that he had entered only 45 minutes earlier.
My over-riding feeling from that day, apart from the overwhelming grief and trauma, is the guilt I have because I didn't know how to help my Dad, when he always knew how to help others. I was by his side and I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to spot the signs of a cardiac arrest or what action to take, apart from seeking help. I often think back to those first few minutes after Dad collapsed and regret not having basic life support skills that might have changed things on that day.
Could I have saved him if I knew what was happening sooner?
Would Dad still be here if I knew, then, what a cardiac arrest looked like?
I have since learnt that those first few moments of a cardiac arrest are the most crucial. I want to live in a world where people are empowered to take immediate action if they witness a cardiac emergency and that they have a public access defibrillator nearby to give someone in cardiac arrest the best chance of life.
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Knowledge, CPR and defibrillator use can save lives. I believe that EVERYONE should have access to life-saving skills and devices which is why I have founded The Paul Alan Project.
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Clare Parish
Founder & Director
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The Paul Alan Project is in loving memory of my wonderful parents, Paul and Christina Parish who were only apart for 314 days until my Mum's broken heart reunited with "her Paul" at the end of 2022. Everything I do, I do with them in my heart. Clare x