Watch: Antrim woman who lost her son to sudden cardiac death on a mission to spread the word about CRY Ireland

Eleanor Abbott became a volunteer for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) Ireland following the death of her son Gareth in July 2019.

CRY Ireland works to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through a number of initiatives, including awareness campaigns, screening programmes, research efforts, and support for affected families across the island of Ireland.

Eleanor first encountered the organisation in the difficult months following Gareth's passing, which occurred just two days after her daughter, Judith, had given birth to her second child.

The local woman, who is from the Nutts Corner area, had previously lost her husband, Hunter, to cancer in 2010.

"My daughter had just had her second baby on the Thursday evening, and on the Saturday I was out doing a walk for the Hospice," Eleanor said. "When I came home, I found Gareth on the sofa; he had died while watching TV.

"It was just such an awful shock; we should have been celebrating the birth of a new baby, but we were plunged into sudden grief."

A post mortem was carried out, but it failed to shed any light on how Gareth, who was 36, had died. "Gareth was just full of life and full of craic; he was a motorbike man and fit and healthy. His heart just stopped beating and it was unexplained, and that was hard: to lose a child for seemingly no apparent reason," Eleanor added.

"I first found out about CRY through a friend, who rang me to say she had seen a woman talking about the charity on the Late Late Show. I rang CRY myself and got through to the support programme coordinator Elaine Whelan; she was fabulous. She asked if it would be helpful to put me in touch with someone else who has also lost their son, and I said yes. Who could understand something like that unless they had been through it themselves?"

As time went on, CRY Ireland came to be a vital source of support for Eleanor. "Being able to just lift the phone at any time to talk about it was fantastic," she added.

"Eventually Elaine asked if I wanted to become a volunteer with the family support programme myself, and I decided I wanted to become involved to tell my story and to give something back. Being able to help someone else gives me a sense of purpose and I really love it."

Eleanor continues to volunteer with the charity, supporting families who have been through a similar bereavement.

However, she is keen to stress that CRY Ireland operates on an all-island basis. "Not a lot of people here in Northern Ireland know about CRY Ireland, which is different from CRY UK, so I made it my mission to get the word out there and promote them.”

Vital support

Alongside its support services, the charity also runs heart screening programmes through the Centre for Cardiovascular Risk in Younger Persons (CRYP), which currently operates from Tallaght Hospital, Dublin.

The free service, through which Eleanor’s daughter was able to access screening following Gareth's death, provides evaluation and treatment for at risk individuals and families.

CRY Ireland also supports those for whom screening has detected a risk or anomaly. “That can be totally life-changing and it’s a different sort of adjustment,” Eleanor said.

Meanwhile, it continues to engage in research with the aim of advancing advocacy of SADS (Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome) and those affected by it.

Eleanor, along with former Antrim councillor Mervyn Rea is one of the organisers behind a gospel concert, which will take place on Saturday, April 27 in Killead Presbyterian Church.

All proceeds from the concert, which will begin at 7:30pm with doors opening at 6:45pm, will go towards CRY and Stonebridge Presbyterian Church.

The musical evening will feature Caroline Crawford and Wired Workshop; Darren Smyth and AVODA, and Clara Wilson.

Loanends Presbyterian Church will also be helping to raising funds for CRY Ireland during their vintage rally on June 1.

Charity’s mission

Every year, some 80 young people lose their lives from a heart condition they never knew they had, according to CRY Ireland.

The charity was founded in 2002 by Marie and Michael Greene following the sudden death of their 15-year-old son, Peter.

The couple aimed to fill the gap that existed at the time as regards the availability of support, information, or screening in cases of sudden cardiac death.

In the years since, thousands of people from all over the island of Ireland have availed of the organisation’s free screening services at CRYP, according to the charity’s website www.cry.ie

“CRY Ireland is a self-supporting, Irish charity with the mission to facilitate access to all families in Ireland, both north and south, who have been affected by, or are at risk from, sudden cardiac death of a young person, or living with an inherited cardiac condition, to referred free clinical cardiac screenings and to offer emotional support services in an empathic environment,” the organisation said.

"CRY Ireland provides a family support programme, offering free access to listening volunteers, mentors and bereavement specialists. A part of this programme is the freephone CRY Helpline which provides callers with a caring listening ear.”

You can reach the CRY Helpline in the Republic of Ireland at 1800 714 080 and in Northern Ireland at 00 44 8006 40 62 80.