Sudden cardiac arrest during a basketball game killed 14-year-old Max

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At 14, Max’s heart stopped during a basketball game. Five years after her son's death, Fiona Connolly recalls pleading with hospital staff to save her son. 'I said, "This is Max. His name is Max, and I really need you to to do what you do really well, and please just get him back to life.”' Research suggests one person under 35 experiences a sudden cardiac arrest every day in Australia, and studies put the fatality rate at 90%, making it one of the biggest killers of young people. The first symptom of a sudden cardiac death can be, as in the case of Max, that the heart simply stops.

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In Australia, support for people who are grieving is available from Griefline on 1300 845 745

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