Tain mum’s tragic death which ‘devastated’ family believe defibrillator could have prevented
THE tragic death of a “wonderful” much-loved Easter Ross mum who died at the weekend has prompted a remarkable community response that is set to save lives.
Elspeth ‘Ellie’ Chapman died suddenly on July 20, aged 54, after having a cardiac arrest at her home in south Tain.
Her devastated family believe if there had been a defibrillator near her house, she could have survived.
And now they are determined that the town could become a trailblazing example to the rest of the country with plans to provide defibrillators within 200 metres of the vast majority of the population.
In her memory, Ellie’s family began a fundraiser with a target of £2500, to install a defibrillator in the south side of Tain, as a tribute to the much-loved woman known to many as a member of the band, The Impact.
Within six hours of the GoFundMe page going live, the fundraising target was smashed. At the time of writing, Ellie’s AED fundraiser has received over 200 donors, and has raised over £5700.
Anne Brabazon, Ellie’s sister, said: “We’ve now raised enough for two defibrillators.
“The British Heart Foundation (BHF) recommend that there’s a defibrillator every 200m — if you can’t get to it and back within four minutes, it’s not going to be a lot of use. So now we are just going to keep going, and see how many AEDs we can put into Tain in her memory.”
Ellie’s funeral, taking place on July 30 at the Duthac Centre in Tain, invites all friends to wear colourful attire if they wish. Ellie is survived by her son Angus; sisters Sadie, Anne, Ellen and Diane and life-long partner Willie. She was the daughter of Elsie and the late Danny.
“I think it will be a very big funeral,” said Anne. “She was just really bubbly, and bright, and constantly laughing. Everybody loved her, anyone who met her. We’re a wee bit surprised at the response to the fundraiser, but not really — she just knew so many people. She was taken too young, we’re devastated. Everyone wants to do something for her.
“She was just so wonderful.”
Since Ellie died, her family believe that her organs have helped save three other people.
Anne continued: “We didn’t know she was an organ donor — she opted in three times to make sure she was. She’s helped three people since she died, that’s the kind of person she was. Her wishes were honoured.
“She was a real figure in the local community. She grew up in Tain and played with her band, The Impact, for the last ten years or so. They played every year at the Duthac Centre on Hogmanay, and that’s where we are having her funeral. She worked as a civil servant in the day, and a singer by night.
“I was horrified to find out that people who have a cardiac arrest outside of hospital, only have a ten per cent chance of survival with CPR — and the ambulance still has to get there within six or seven minutes, which in the Highlands, is never going to happen. It’s mind-blowing.
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“We are hoping now that we can keep this going, and become the first Scottish town to have a defib every 200m. I don’t understand why the government isn’t putting money into this — it costs more to look after people in hospital, than it would to put a defib in.”
Currently, there are only three public-access defibrillators in Tain.
“We want to put a defibrillator in the south side and the north side, and then as many as we can in-between.
“We would like for them to be taken under the wing of local businesses — every machine needs a power source and a guardian to keep an eye on it. We would really like a couple of local businesses to let us know if they are interested in having one on their property.”
Her death is being mourned widely.
Heather Ross wrote: "Ellie was an absolute breath of fresh air beautiful inside and out . Such sad sad news... she will be missed by so many. Bless her, RIP beautiful Ellie may you keep singing with the angels."
John Catley remembers “a beautiful talented lady”.
"To donate to Ellie’s AED fundraiser, visit www.gofundme.com/f/ellies-aed-defibrillator-gift-to-tain
