On the 17th June we visited a brave little girl called Ivy Reed and her family to donate a defibrillator to situate at their home, partnering with Sarah Jones who is the founder of Restart The Heart charity.  

Ivy, only six years old, is recovering from a recent liver transplant. Ivy was diagnosed with non-verbal autism, and a rare metabolic disorder known as Propionic acidemia at just two weeks old. Both her parents are carriers of the condition which affects her liver. It is so rare that only four or five children are known to have the life-long condition.

In 2022 Ivy’s mum, Pippa Reed, had just finished settling her for bed and feeding her, when she heard an unusual 'clicking' noise.

After rushing upstairs, Pippa realised that Ivy was having a seizure. Before reaching Blackburn Hospital where she regularly attends, Ivy’s heart stopped suddenly and went into cardiac arrest, and she was given chest compressions and CPR along with a shock from a defibrillator.

Ivy had her first seizure and went into cardiac arrest at 11-months-old and was put on life support during her first Christmas and new year’s.

Understanding SCA

Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a medical condition that occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating. This happens due to an electrical malfunction in the heart that disrupts its normal rhythm, leading to a loss of blood flow to the brain and other vital organs. Without prompt medical intervention such as Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation, SCA is fatal within minutes. 

In cases of cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT), defibrillation is essential to restore the heart's normal rhythm. The use of a defibrillator significantly improves survival rates

Following her liver transplant, Ivy will be isolated at home for around 4 months. Her family wanted to reach out for any help to receive an accessible defibrillator for their family home in case Ivy has another seizure.

(Above: the donated defibrillator being handed over to Ivy and her family)

What Does ‘Paediatric’ Mean on a Defibrillator?

SCA strikes at any time without warning and sadly, no one is immune regardless of gender, age, fitness level, ethnicity or geography. A defibrillator provides suitable and effective treatment to a child through paediatric pads.

Electrode pad placement on a child is different to an adult, due to the chest and frame size of a child. One pad is placed on the centre of the child's chest, the other is placed on the centre of the child's back, adjacent to the front pad.

Paediatric electrode pads lower the shock to a safe level of joules for a child when restoring their heart back to a normal rhythm. In a situation where paediatric electrode pads are not available for a child in cardiac arrest, it is advised to use adult pads with the correct placement for a child.

 A defibrillator with a built-in paediatric feature automatically adjusts the shock level at the touch of a button. Paediatric pads will not be required if the device has a paediatric feature. The pads should still be placed on the centre of the child's chest and back.

Simply pressing the button or switch or inserting the key (dependent on the device) lowers the shock level, saving vital time in an emergency by eliminating the need to detach and reattach a new set of electrode pads.

The family have also set up a GoFundMe page  for Ivy. The family hopes to use some of the money raised to transform their spare room into a sensory room for Ivy’s isolation. They hope to fill the room with toys and decorations of Ivy’s favourite TV shows.

So far they have raised an amazing £3501 towards the sensory room. To donate click here

We are delighted to be supporting Ivy and her family with this donated defibrillator, meaning they now have the reassurance that if anything was to happen to Ivy while isolating at home, they have a quickly accessible defibrillator that can save her life if another seizure or cardiac emergency happens.

If you would like to be in with a chance to receive a defibrillator for your local charity/community, please contact us today.

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