For Rebekah Guy, July will always be a special month. It is the month her husband should have been celebrating his birthday. Instead, two years after his tragic death at the age of just 35, Rebekah and her children are choosing to honour his memory in a way that reflects the kindness, compassion and community spirit he embodied in his life.
Throughout July, the family will undertake 30 Acts of Kindness while raising funds for Rother Responders, the volunteer community first responder charity that was first on the scene when Rebekah made the desperate 999 call after her husband suffered a cardiac arrest. Community first responders provide vital emergency care and life support in the critical minutes before an ambulance arrives.
The experience left an indelible mark on Rebekah and her family. Although her husband could not be saved, she has never forgotten the dedication, professionalism and compassion shown by the responders who answered the call that day.
Now she hopes that by carrying out 30 Acts of Kindness during his birth month, she can both celebrate his life and help ensure that Rother Responders can continue their life-saving work across the district. The acts will range from simple gestures of kindness within the community to activities involving family, friends and local supporters. Alongside spreading goodwill, the challenge aims to raise awareness of the important role played by Rother Responders, a volunteer-led charity that relies on donations to fund equipment, training and public access defibrillators.
Rebekah explained how this venture came about, “The 30 Acts of Kindness was a team decision! Despite everything, my daughters love to make a point of being kind to others. We wanted to find a meaningful way to celebrate Cymon, and his kindness is something that the children remember him for, so this seemed like a fitting way to honour his memory. I want Arya and Esme to see that even when it feels like the world is against you and you’ve been dealt the worst hand, there is always a space for kindness and community.
“Unfortunately many people will understand that losing a partner, or anyone significant for that matter, is a life-changing event. It took everything we thought we knew and trusted about our happy little life and crumpled it up!
“As the dust has begun to settle and I have had chance to reflect on the events of that night, the first responder who attended is something that has always stuck out in my memory. I can’t help but think that while for us, we didn’t get the outcome that everyone wanted, for someone else the first responders could be the difference between whether someone survives a medical emergency or not. And you just never know when you might need them!
“Cymon’s death has had a profound effect on us all. He was the person who held steady in the face of testing times for our family. For the plans we had, for what we assumed would be the rest of our lives, to be gone overnight with no warning is something so hard to find words for. But the worst part was watching our two little girls try to make sense of world where their daddy suddenly no longer existed physically, and trying to find words to explain to them why, when I couldn’t understand why myself. Every milestone, starting school, birthdays etc is always tinted with the fact that he should be here. Nearly two years on they still struggle to sleep well because they are terrified someone else will die. Cymon was seemingly fit and healthy: we had no idea that instead of going away on our holiday that morning we would be coming to terms with losing our best friend.
“Fundraising for Rother Responders and remembering Cymon is certainly going to bring us comfort. He would be as grateful to them as we are for their efforts that night – we’d just like to give something back to them really.
“Following Cymon’s death we have discovered that there is voluntary heart testing available through CRY (cardiac risk in the young) across the country. I would absolutely urge anyone, if you can get to a screening session, please do. So many heart conditions go undetected until it’s too late. As well as this, if you haven’t already done so, please consider attending a local CPR/defib training session. Having the confidence in what I was doing whilst waiting for the emergency services made a big difference.”
Rother Responders has been serving communities across Rother since 2012, responding to emergency calls in conjunction with the ambulance service and often arriving first because volunteers are based within local communities.
As July unfolds, every act of kindness will serve as a reminder that even in the face of unimaginable loss, compassion can create a lasting legacy.
Those wishing to support Rebekah and her family can do so by donating to their fundraising campaign for Rother Responders and helping ensure that more families receive the rapid emergency support they provide when every second counts.
https://wonderful.org/fundraisers/NWZWD
Image Credits: Kt bruce , Rebekah Guy .