Recently I’ve seen so many people on Facebook say that they’re bored and think that’s a massive shame because this lockdown period is such a great opportunity to get some positive things done.
I’m sure all of us can think of things to do around the house, but you’re the only one who sees that. However, one thing that you could do in the comfort of your home is to create something that will not only help yourself but potentially also many others, a perfect win-win.
So what is this thing?
It’s simply to give back by doing something for the Sudden Cardiac Arrest community by writing a piece for our website. This can be as a straight story piece for our journal page or if you have something more to say, as a piece for our blog.
Many previous contributors have reported that writing their contribution has had a cathartic effect on them and there is actually a trauma treatment called Expressive Writing which has good outcomes purely from just writing 15 minutes a day for a few days on the trot.
We have a good range of topics on our blog but there are a few missing that crop up from time to time in the group, and so it would be helpful if we had something on them. A couple that comes to mind are:
- Having an SCA in older life
- Having an SCA as a young adult
- Being a parent of a child who’s had an SCA
- Pregnancy (after SCA or during SCA)
- Sporting achievement post-SCA
- Personal achievement post-SCA
- Overcoming SCA induced mental health issues
- Overcoming a challenge (related to your SCA)
- Travelling
- Life with an ICD or other implant-related to your SCA
- How your life is better post-SCA
Hopefully, you get the idea!
We’d love to receive your contribution and you never know it may end up in a future volume of our book Life After Cardiac Arrest (Vols 1 & 2 available on Amazon)
There are some more ideas and guidelines on submissions on the blog submissions page.
After our first meet-up in February 2015, I realised I was not alone. It was the first time since my cardiac arrest the previous year that I had spoken face-to-face with someone who had experienced what I had. This was also true for my wife, who also happened to be my lifesaver. From that meet-up, the idea of SCA UK was born. Since then, we have achieved a considerable amount, primarily providing information, resources and support to others in a similar situation but also raising the profile of survivorship and the need for better post-discharge care. We are starting to get traction in this, and with the formation of the charity, I genuinely believe we have a bright future ahead and will make a significant difference in the lives of many who join our ranks.