EVERY time Hayley McHugh visits Dunwood Park she remembers the good times as a youngster going their with her dad and sisters.
But now there is a more poignant memory of Frank McHugh who died suddenly of a heart attack while on a canal barging holiday in 2017, aged 62.
After grieving for their father-a grandfather of 10 at the time of his death-the family decided the best tribute would be a defibrillator to allow other heart attack victims a greater chance of survival.
Through JustGiving, they raised £2,500 erecting the potentially lifesaving piece of equipment at Dunwood Park and having sufficient funds to provide a second defibrillator at Hollingworth Lake.
There is sufficient money available to provide a donation to the North West Air Ambulance who attended to Frank’s plight two years ago.
“I recently completed a first aid course where the instructor told me if a patient suffers a cardiac arrest out of hospital their chance of survival is only one per cent,” Hayley told the Correspondent.
“But if there is an accessible defibrillator nearby their chances of survival increase to 65 or 75 per cent.
“Many public areas now have these life saving devices and I would like to spread awareness of how important they are.
“For dad, what happened came out of the blue. He had never been poorly.
“Through all the shock the family (sisters Joanne, Nicola and Nadine plus their mum, Anne) decided we wanted something good to come out of it rather than his bad thing that had happened.
“At first, we thought about raising money for the British Heart Foundation but we then decided to get a defibrillator put in a public area.
“My dad used to take us all to Dunwood Park as youngsters and a lot of people go there walking their dogs, visiting the café or go playing bowls.
“So, at least if the same thing happened to someone else, it might give them a chance.”