Tragic woman's lasting legacy as all East Ayrshire secondary schools get defibrillators

dailyrecord.co.uk:

All secondary schools in East Ayrshire have had defibrillators installed with the help of St John Scotland and fundraising by the family and friends of Laura Henderson, who tragically died of sudden cardiac arrest in 2021.Laura, who was originally from Stewarton, was just 42 years old when she suffered a sudden cardiac arrest after a park run.

People around her tried their best to help, but Laura never regained consciousness and passed away peacefully a few days later.

The Henderson family, Laura’s friends and her colleagues from Tennent’s Brewery in Glasgow began fundraising for public access defibrillators to create a lasting legacy in her name.Scottish charity, St John Scotland, has supported the family to install the defibrillators throughout East Ayrshire, including The Centre in Stewarton, the Robert Burns World Federation headquarters and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Kilmarnock.They have also been working with the council to ensure that defibrillators installed in educational facilities are outside and available to the public all the time.Councillor Neal Ingram, East Ayrshire Council’s spokesperson for community safety, roads and transportation and community cohesion said: “Losing Laura was a terrible tragedy that is still felt keenly by her family, her friends and colleagues.

They have taken the terrible pain of her loss and created a lasting legacy in Laura’s name through the installation of public access defibrillators and now the installation of defibrillators in all of our secondary schools.“I was honoured to meet Laura’s parents Nora and James Henderson, her brother Daren and her niece Leah, and to let them know how much I admire their strength and their drive, working so hard to help other local