Findhorn Coastal Rowing Club hosted a special event on Sunday in which our Bosun, Maclean Macleod honoured the team members who saved his life after having a cardiac arrest last year. Thank you to everyone who came and supported us, not least the Lord Lieutenant of Moray, Seymour Monro and Dame Katherine Grainger. The refreshments were provided by Findhorn WI and were, as usual, delicious and plentiful.

Thanks as always to Sandra and Gordon McKandie who work so tirelessly to keep alive the memory of their beloved son, Kieran by the widespread provision of defibrillators.

The strongest message from this is to familiarise yourselves with defibrillator locations/usage and don’t be afraid to do something. You might just save a life. This heartwarming event is testament to that. A happy day.

The full story is below…
Presentation of Royal Humane Society Certificates for Resuscitation
Guests and speakers: Major General The Hon Seymour Monro, H M Lord Lieutenant of Moray, Dame Katherine Grainger DBE, Lorna Donaldson, Wildcat Cardiac Responder Development Lead, Sandra and Gordon McKandie of Kierans Legacy and Dr James Cant, Chief Executive Officer of the Resuscitation Council UK

This event has been organised as a result of Maclean MacLeod’s cardiac arrest on the shore in front of the Kimberley Inn, Findhorn Bay on 21st April 2022. This followed an evening training session with Findhorn Coastal Rowing Club. Claire Weller, Club Captain, explained what happened: “When we came back to the shore Maclean, our Club Bosun, was first out of the boat to make her ready for the rest of the crew to disembark. Then he suddenly collapsed. I realised what had happened and stepped in to give first aid.” Claire is also an SAS Wildcat Cardiac Responder and she recognised immediately what had occurred, Maclean wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. Claire told the other crew members and immediately began CPR chest compression. She was joined by fellow crew member, Alison Mackay, Club Treasurer, and the two of them applied CPR for 20 minutes. Jackie King joined in, holding Maclean’s head and helping with the defibrillator when it arrived. The rest of the crew – Ruth Boardman, Club Vice Captain, Annie Cheese and Maria Olsthoorn, Club rowing Officer – organised everything on the shore including getting the defibrillator from the JMI, calling 999, helped by a local lady, Ali Cherry, and also keeping onlookers back. Claire and Alison cut Maclean’s clothes to expose his chest, Claire applied the defibrillator pads and Claire and Jackie applied the shocks. Claire said “After three shocks he came back to life” Maclean was then taken to Dr Gray’s by ambulance and subsequently transferred to ARI where he recovered for nearly three weeks. Maclean feels that the critical care that he received from the NHS was exemplary.

Once he had recovered Maclean realised he owed a huge debt of gratitude to Claire and Alison for maintaining the oxygen flow to his brain, which in the case of cardiac arrest is paramount. He also realised just what he owed to Sandra and Gordon McKandie and the defibrillator which they had provided. The defibrillator was given to the community in honour of their beloved son, Kieran, who was less fortunate than Maclean. Maclean said “I would not be here today were it not for Captain Claire and the crew and also Kierans Legacy’s defibrillator. They brought me back to life.”

After returning home, Maclean wanted to do something for the crew from Findhorn Coastal Rowing Club that would be a permanent reminder of their amazing efforts and try to pay them back for the trauma they had suffered in the process. After discussing this with his pal, Mark Lean, Club Training and Safety Officer, Mark decided to approach the Royal Humane Society to find an appropriate and prestigious acknowledgement of the crew’s achievement. Eventually, after much hard work by Mark, the Royal Humane Society agreed that they would like to award Resuscitation Certificates to Claire, Alison and Jackie and Certificates of Commendation to Ruth, Annie and Maria.

These certificates were presented to the crew on Sunday 29th January by Dame Katherine Grainger.