A NEW defibrillator being installed at the site of a tragic incident is being as making a positive from the ultimate negative.
Alan Walker collapsed and died after suffering a heart attack as he waited for friend David Westwell’s coffin to be removed from its hearse at St Paul’s Church in Stalybridge.
Despite rushing to nearby Lockside Medical Centre for its defibrillator and attempts to resuscitate him, he could not be revived.
Now after going through that tragedy, a piece of life saving equipment has now been installed at the Huddersfield Road church, with Alan’s wife Maggie among those handing it over.
She said: “It’s something good coming out of a bad situation.
“It was shattering at the time. We were stood outside St Paul’s talking to people, then all of a sudden I just saw him slide down the wall.
“Two nurses ran over to him, did CPR on him, then he stopped breathing. So they did it again and ran into the church to see if they had a defibrillator.
“They didn’t have one, so they ran over to Lockside and got theirs as the ambulance came.
“It sounds so simple but it’s important to have as many in the community as possible.
“We didn’t have a wake at the time, it was too upsetting, so we’re having a celebration of Alan’s life on April 2, where a collection will be held to go towards its upkeep and for different parts.”
Gary Westwell, David’s brother, immediately set about raising the funds needed to secure the defibrillator, with many customers in the taxi he drives fir Stalybridge firm Swift contributing.
He said: “We were literally just about to carry David when poor Alan had a heart attack and dropped down.
“It was horrendous. We came out of the funeral, got back into the car and we said, ‘That was dreadful and there’s enough of us here to do something about it.’
“I said to the vicar, ‘I want to do something. I don’t want that happening again. Can I raise funds for a defibrillator for you?’
“I’m a taxi driver. I’m gobby and chatty, so I raised it through my family and customers. People would say, ‘Here’s a fiver, here’s a tenner.’ Two women gave me £40 each.
“I made it my mission. I thought, ‘Something good has to come out of something so tragic.’
“And eventually there will be a little brass plaque saying, ‘In memory of Dave Westwell and Alan Walker.’”
Vicar of St Paul’s, the Reverend Emma Handley, accepted the defibrillator and believes just having it there is a big thing.
She said: “At the wake, they said, ‘This is terrible, we need to do something about this. We need a whip round for a defibrillator.’
“The closest defibrillator was down at the doctors’ surgery, so we had to run down and bring it up. So having something here – where there’s a bit more access for the local community, who walk through the church yard quite a lot and parents picking the kids up from school park here – is great.
“To have a defibrillator stationed here, with the access to it, is fantastically positive. It’s a positive action that’s come out of something really tragic.”