Anna Cullen

In light of recent events with Christian Eriksen, I believe now is a good time to share this documentary in relation to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) and the importance of CPR training and defibrillators within our communities. This package documents the story of a SADS survivor Tony Cullen, my father, who collapsed during an amateur soccer match with friends on February 9th 2012. Tony was five minutes into the game when he collapsed face-first on to the astro-turf.

During his interview Tony recounts his story by going back to the scene, showing viewers what he thought had happened, compared to what actually happened. He spoke in detail of the procedure he had to undertake while getting a mini defibrillator and pace-maker inserted for the future.

Two men, Eamon Troy and Pat Carey, were also in attendance that night and were trained first responders. They performed CPR for around 12 minutes before using a defibrillator that only had one shock left because the battery was low.

During Eamon’s interview, he spoke of the moment Tony collapsed and when he realised he wasn’t breathing. Eamon documents the steps taken in order to get Tony to breathe again. He describes the shock the men had when they used the defibrillator on Tony and watched him being lifted inches off the ground.

Ollie Hayes is a first-aid trainer and his interview was centered around courses and preventative measures that can be taken to prevent people from sudden deaths by cardiac issues.

Since Tony’s incident, preventative measures have been implemented in his area. CPR courses have been held and defibrillators have been installed. A miracle occurred that night, for which we are forever thankful. This package aims to highlight this while also documenting the results of this hereditary condition.