Henley Hawks Netball Team Donated a Defibrillator

Henley Hawks Netball Team are the proud keepers of a portable defibrillator thanks to the local charity Millie’s Dream. The life-saving device was presented to the team last Tuesday after a training session at Henley College Sports Centre. Millie’s Dream founder, Sarah Roberts, made the presentation to Henley Hawks Head Coach Lou Porter, with a number of the club’s other players in attendance.

After handing over the defibrillator, Sarah said, “Millie and I are here on behalf of Millie’s Dream to very proudly present to you our 85th defibrillator in Henley. I don’t want to be too serious, but 100,000 people a year die of cardiac arrest. Without a defibrillator, there’s about a 5% chance of survival, and with one there’s up to a 75% chance. I ask all of you, rather than donating money or anything like that, even if it’s just a YouTube video, do anything to just learn and feel a little bit confident about your defibrillator. “

Millie’s Dream was founded in 2013, with an initial vision to equip all the schools in Henley with a defibrillator. The charity was named after Sarah’s daughter, Millie, who was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia at age four. Millie was in attendance for the netball training session, as well as the presentation itself.

Henley Hawks Netball team now have 150 players registered, so the defibrillator can give them a boost of confidence to know that they can access this life-saving equipment in the case of an emergency.

Head Coach Lou Porter approached Sarah after attending a first aid course, and realising how much of a difference a defibrillator can make in the unfortunate case of cardiac arrest. Lou said, “From the Hawks to you, Sarah, and Millie’s Dream as a charity, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts because this could change someone’s life. We hope not, we hope we don’t have to use it, but we are eternally grateful for you supporting us and believing in us and giving us this opportunity, so thank you very much.”

Lou continued, “Things happen to really healthy people, young people, at any age – it doesn’t matter. The opportunity to go, we’ve got a defib, let’s use it if we need to, you could be saving someone’s life.”