Ipswich Star, 4th September 2019
Julie Phillips spoke up about how her daughter’s legacy has saved lives. Her daughter Rebecca was only 25 years old when she collapsed at a birthday party in November of 2010. She passed away hours later in hospital and it was later discovered that she had Arrhthmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC), a rare condition that disrupts the flow of blood in the heart. Since then, her family has raised thousands for Cardiac Risk in Young (CRY), hoping that funding screenings and raising awareness of conditions like Rebecca’s will prevent another family from going through the pain they have.
Julie said : “We had more than 100 youngsters from the age of 14 to 34 screened in Hadleigh. Of these, four were picked up with heart conditions and were referred to hospital. My two nieces have what Rebecca had and have now had operations to help their heart if it stops. My brother has also got it.”
Still, Julie considers her daughter’s life saving legacy to be “bitter sweet”, stating: “It is hard because you think why couldn’t Rebecca have found out about it before it happened. But it would have been some other family who have gone through what we have been through. It is bitter sweet really. Her dad also had a heart condition picked up because of screening so she has saved her dad too.”
Since Rebecca passed away, Julie and her family have raised more than £10, 000 for charity in her memory.
“The shock and heartbreak of losing a child is devastating, you just don’t think of outliving your children. We were determined to help prevent other parents from going through the devastation we have so decided to raise funds for CRY,” Julie said.
