Just over a year since the loss of his father to a cardiac arrest, a Co Antrim man is taking on a mammoth 400 mile cycle in his memory.
Stewart Harper, 38, from Carrickfergus and his five strong cycling team will cycle the distance over four days starting today in memory of his father Davy and to raise funds for British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland (BHF NI).
Davy was just 63-years-old when he passed away suddenly on January 14 2021 from a cardiac arrest.
Read more: Meet the business owners bringing a Carrickfergus street back to life again
The medical team at Antrim Area Hospital tried for 20 minutes to resuscitate him but unfortunately Davy died, leaving his family, including wife Denise and their three children Stewart, Darren and Samantha, heartbroken.
Stewart said: “My dad was diagnosed with cancer of the lungs in October 2020. He was admitted to hospital in January 2021 with difficulty breathing and at the time everyone assumed that the breathing difficulties had been coming from the cancer in his lungs.
“Dad spent almost two weeks in hospital while the doctors tried to figure out what the problem really was. They came to dad on 11 January asking him if he was aware that he had heart disease.
“This was news to my dad as he had never shown any symptoms. On the day of dad’s death our whole family had been in touch with him via video calls and texts.
“My mum and dad spoke via video call at 3:15pm and he was in good spirits and hoping to get home soon. However, just an hour later my mum received a call from the hospital telling her that my dad had died from a cardiac arrest at 4:10pm.
“The initial breathing difficulties that my dad had been admitted into hospital for were actually due to a cardiac cause,” Stewart added.
Stewart said his family were left devastated by the loss of the much-loved father.
“As you can imagine, this was a complete shock and heartbreak for dad’s family, friends and colleagues but especially for my mum. My parents had celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary just a few months before dad had been diagnosed with cancer.
“Mum was only getting to grips with this and then out of nowhere the love of her life is gone,” he said.
A year on, Stewart is now determined to raise £4,000 to support local heart research funded by BHF NI.
“Losing dad has been heart breaking for us all. I really want to do my bit to help prevent similar heartbreak for other families by helping fund the vital heart research of BHF NI,” he added.
“In memory of my dad, I have decided to cycle 400 miles around the coast and border of Northern Ireland over four days to raise £4,000 for BHF NI. I have a few friends and family who will be doing the cycle with me and also raising funds for the charity.
“We are so touched by the support we have received already and we’re very proud to have so many great businesses sponsoring our event. I'm not expecting individuals to donate large amounts of money, even the smallest of donations help us reach target! The old saying goes.....'look after the pennies, the pounds look after themselves'."
Head of BHF NI Fearghal McKinney added: “We are incredibly grateful to Stewart and his family for their incredible fundraising efforts, especially so soon after losing their beloved dad and husband.
“Stewart has already achieved half of his target, a testament not only to his efforts but also to how loved his father was by his family and the local community.
“We couldn’t fund our life-saving heart and circulatory disease research without the support of people like Stewart. For more than 60 years, public support has helped the BHF turn research that once seemed like ‘science fiction’ into reality.
“We are breaking new ground in science every single day, from AI technology that has the power to predict heart attacks, to pioneering techniques that mean more children are able to receive a heart transplant – but there’s still much more for us to do.
“Our hearts will be with Stewart and his cycle team as they take on this epic challenge in memory of Davy this June and we hope that people all over Northern Ireland will get behind them too.”
Stewart and his cycle team began their challenge on Thursday at 8am, cycling from Carrickfergus to Coleraine. The next few days will take them towards Enniskillen and Newcastle, returning to Carrickfergus late afternoon on Sunday, where everyone can enjoy some food and a well-earned rest at Dobbins Inn.
To get behind Stewart and his team, you can donate to their fundraising efforts via his Just Giving page.
Read more: Carrickfergus charity opening free-to-use sensory room to meet community demand
Read more: WhatsApp scammers pretend to be daughter in bid to steal father's money
To get the latest breaking news straight to your inbox, sign up to our free newsletter.
