“Quick! Where’s The Church AED?”

Lars Andrews is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Anglican Parish of Box Hill.

Donation protected

Hello. My name is Lars and I need your help to save lives.

The Problem:

As a medical professional with many years in Cardiology, I am keenly aware of the importance of having quick access to AEDs (Defibrillators) in all of the various places in which people gather, not just in hospitals or workplaces. There is a defib to my left in this operating theatre photo. The survival rate of a Sudden Cardiac Arrest drops about 10% with every passing minute. If it takes you 4 minutes to get an AED your chance of survival is down to 60%. After 7 minutes you are down to 30%. At 9 minutes you have a less than 10% chance of survival. Ambulance response times across Victoria range considerably and are likely to be a minimum of 10 minutes depending on the area you live in. If the nearest AED is across a major road in your local police station, how quickly can you run there, explain to a police officer what you need, and return with AED? Can you do all that in less than 4 minutes?

Church congregations get increasingly elderly, year after year, and with this the chances of a medical emergency increase; I have witnessed two members of my church congregation need first aid in the past 3 years, and on early Sunday mornings many places that have AEDs are usually closed.

Church donations have to cover many needs, and buying AEDs is not a high priority.

The Solution:

I needed a challenge, something to motivate me, to get fit again post-surgery, and to stay healthy going forward from here.

My Cardiac Athletes members and friends https://cardiacathletes.com/ kindly bought me a ‘Smart Trainer’ for my bike as a birthday present and also a subscription to ‘Zwift’ https://us.zwift.com/ to help me reclaim my fitness.

Then by chance, I saw a map drawn up by a Rev A. P. Stout in 1881 of all of Jesus’s journeys around the Holy Lands.

Rev. Stout 1881 Jesus Map

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g7501s.ct002408/?r=-1.317,0,3.634,1.407,0

So, I had a crazy idea … they are the best though, aren’t they?

This map discovery made me curious; just how far did Jesus travel around the Holy Lands in his sandals?

How about I cycle the same distance and for every kilometre I achieve, interested and kind people can donate some money to this good cause with all money raised going towards buying an AED defib (and First Aid Bag) for the church?

In his ministry, Jesus travelled about 3,000 kms, so that will be the distance of my virtual-world cycle challenge. Converting 3,000 kms into $3,000 AUD would cover the cost of an AED, secure wall cabinet and First Aid Bag. Maybe I can raise enough donations to buy more than one AED?

I have calculated where elevations occur and will be choosing Zwift routes that match those elevation and slope challenges. I will start with 20 to 30 km Zwift routes, two to three times per week, increasing over the weeks to longer km routes as my fitness increases (and if arthritic knees willing).

Of course, I will be keeping everyone updated on the route and the fundraising as I ride along. I will post the kms I have covered each week and interested donors can then follow the journey using Rev. Stout’s 1881 map and could also read about the various historical events as they are recorded in the scriptures if they so wish. You probably know many of the stories already but do not know exactly where they occurred. Another thing I am exploring with this personal challenge. That way kind and generous donors can feel part of this journey too.

Before I start this, … and become too short of breath to say it …

“THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND & GENEROUS DONATIONS!”

Every little helps, as does every Km I ride…

You too are a lifesaver!

Update 22nd October 2023:

I have already managed to raise enough funds to buy the first AED defib and this will be placed in St. Peter's Anglican Church, Box Hill. It has been paid for and ordered but will take 8 weeks to come from the USA where two language options, English and Chinese Mandarin are being programmed in, so that two of its congregations would be able to use it if and when needs be.

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