David’s legacy helps Dumfriesshire schools

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A potential life-saving legacy will see 15 secondary schools in Dumfries and Galloway being given defibrillators and training sessions.It is thanks to the family of a former Dumfries resident and St Joseph’s College student, David Hill, who died from a previously undiagnosed heart condition, aged 30.David’s dad, Rodger and his wife Lesley from Dumfries, and David’s mum Sharon and her husband, Gordon Duncan, from Moffat, have previously been raising awareness and campaigning to reduce the frequency of sudden cardiac deaths among the young.And donations and fundraising – including the Cycle4David event in March– to The David Hill Memorial Fund raised cash for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) to bring a screening programme to the region earlier this year.It gave the first ECG and a one-to-one consultation with a cardiologist to an inaugural 200 young people from across Dumfries and Galloway – a positive from the tragedy.More free cardiac screenings for 14 to 35-year-olds will take place in Dumfries next year in April, June and September – with 200 in each session.The couple have set up the DH9 Foundation – which are David’s initials and a nod to the No.

9 shirt he wore as a scrum half on the rugby field – which has just begun to provide Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) devices free of charge to schools, youth and sporting organisations.

These AED devices will be supported with free CPR training.Some were handed out last week with more schools scheduled to receive a visit this week from Rodger and Lesley for the handovers as part of their drive to “honour David’s memory”.Rodger said: “The DH9 Foundation is committed to improving the cardiac health of young people under the age of 35.“We’ll continue to raise awareness