The Macedon community was quick to rally behind a bid to secure a defibrillator for the heart of their town.
Local nursing student Emily Moody’s online fundraiser reached its $2875 target in less than 24 hours.
“I was pretty excited – I didn’t expect that sort of support straight away,” Emily told the Express.
“I had been wanting to do this for some time but the recent sudden death of a relative is what prompted me to act.”
The 20-year-old’s fundraiser was kickstarted with a significant donation from attendees to the funeral.
“The response has been incredible,” she said. “People are pretty happy to hear Macedon is getting a defibrillator.”
The heart-starter has been ordered and will soon be installed outside the Macedon Newsagency and Post Office at Victoria Street.
Before now, the only other publicly accessible defibrillator for the town was located at Tony Clarke Reserve.
Its arrival will coincide with Shocktober – Ambulance Victoria’s heart health awareness month.
St John’s Ambulance Australia says every year more than 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests occur across the country. For every minute without defibrillation, the survival rate of a cardiac arrest decreases by 10 per cent.
As part of Shocktober, Macedon Newsagency and Post Office will share videos to social media that demonstrate how to use the defibrillator.
The machine will be publicly accessible 24/7, monitored under security cameras.
View Macedon Newsagency and Post Office’s Facebook page for updates.
