A teenager who collapsed and died due to an undiscovered heart defect has been the inspiration behind a life-saving initiative.
Daniel Young, a talented footballer, was just 16 when he collapsed on the pitch during a Sunday league game in September 2005.
Daniel, who played for Atherton LR u17s had an enlarged heart but had not displayed any symptoms. He appeared to be at the peak of physical fitness.
His distraught parents, Dionne and Craig, of Tyldesley Road, Atherton, set up the Daniel Young Memorial Fund in the wake of their son’s death to try and prevent further tragedies and have now reached a milestone in their campaign.
After a successful fundraising effort, including a well-attended dinner dance, the couple has arranged for Daniel’s 35 former team mates to undergo cardiac screening on December 9, and hope that it will spark other clubs to make the initiative part of their annual calendar.
Dionne said: “It has been a long process to try and get CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) to come over and screen the boys.
“We are hoping that clubs will now set up their own funds to make this happen every year as it only costs £35 per person.
“Sometimes we can’t see underlying problems and we all think our children are fit and healthy, but are they?”
If Daniel had been screened and his problem discovered, he could have received medication or been fitted with a pace maker, enabling him to lead a normal, active life.
But due to the effects of adrenaline plus strenuous exercise, his heart was put under extra pressure, leading to his death.
Dionne said: “He seemed so fit it was unbelievable. The symptoms of an enlarged heart include nausea, tiredness and sleeping too much, but Daniel didn’t display any of those.
“I really do feel that the sports clubs have a responsibility to do this each year.”
CRY statistics reveal that eight young people die suddenly each week in the UK of cardiac abnormalities.
Dionne added: “When children are growing up, they have a medical at school but no one looks inside them. We just want to make people aware of what could happen if these things aren’t discovered.
“It has been an horrendous year, coming to terms with what happened, but we now feel that we have been able to give something back for Daniel.
“It is the close of a chapter for us and we will now start to get on with putting our lives back in order.”
