Comment: Every death shows need for defib gear

Like so many others, Kenny suffered a cardiac arrest in a place where no heart start machine was available.

His wife and daughters – Evening News columnists the Mac Twins – tell his story today as they support our Shockingly Easy campaign to ensure every sports centre in the Lothians is fitted with a device.

Kingsknowe Golf Club, where Kenny fell ill, does now have its own defibrillator but there are many more locations which still do not.

Our campaign over the Christmas period has been about raising awareness and finding out where is most in need.

Fundraising also continues, with enough money now to buy 18 of the vital machines.

The response has been absolutely incredible as has the reaction to initiatives such as the Shockingly Easy pledge.

We have seen selfies on social media from celebrities, sports teams, and politicians along with the general public.

And while we continue to hear of stories such as Kenny’s, the work will go on.

The campaign was of course launched in memory of schoolboy Jamie Skinner who tragically died on the football field in Saughton.

But in homes across Edinburgh and the Lothians there will be people who can relate to the devastation of losing a loved one through cardiac arrest.

The message is simple. By using a defibrillator, anyone can be a lifesaver.

It really is so easy.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the campaign over Christmas please keep it up in 2015.

Kenny’s family may not know if a shock from a heart start machine would have saved his life.

But they do know it would have given him the best possible chance.