After a huge health scare, and a very tumultuous time, Stone RUFC have presented their Mini and Junior Coach with £1,000 to help him & his family get back on their feet.
Richard Meredith was presented with the cash by Junior Chairman John Bekalo, and Hon Secretary Ruth Millington, but he was lucky to be there at all, after the scare just before Christmas.
“It was a difficult time for us all,” explains his wife, Kate. “Rich had played rugby for the Stone senior team on Saturday and had said he didn’t feel right. In fact, he was having a heart attack whilst still pitch-side!”
“We went from the club to drop Danny, the eldest of our four boys, to Stafford. He said he had indigestion. At a junction I looked right to pull out and back left and he was dead in the passenger seat. I just rushed him straight to hospital hitting his chest, which occasionally made him gasp but he had his eyes open and was clearly not with us.”
“Bror, our 4 year old, was kicking his seat shouting ‘breathe Daddy’ and Danny was on the phone to 999. Danny looked after Bror, and Danny had heard them say ‘no pulse, nothing’. He looked after Bror for 45 minutes not knowing what was happening.”
Thankfully Rich was able to be resuscitated after a terrifying 15 minutes of no response. He was then rushed to Stoke for life-saving surgery, where they discovered a blood clot in his artery in his heart.
Kate continues, “We can’t thank the staff at Stafford County Hospital enough for not giving up, and we’re so proud of Danny for being so brave through this whole experience. We’ve been so lucky because the rugby club has really rallied round us. Rich has had to stop working for a little while to recover, and so it was going to put a real strain on us, especially having four young boys, but the club have been amazing.”
Stone RUFC rallied around the Meredith family and immediately started a fundraising campaign which raised £1,000 for the family.
Simon Shiner, Stone RUFC Chairman explains, “Rich, Kate, and their family have become such a key part of the club in the last year, so it was only right to give something back to them. The whole family had been through so much, we just wanted to help them in any way we could. This club is a family, and we look after each other. We’re just happy to see he’s on the mend.”
Remarkably, Rich can now be found back in his usual position pitch-side on a Sunday morning, supporting the junior side he coaches, surrounded by his family.
