A mum of three from Bristol who was left with PTSD after she discovered her father had suffered a fatal heart attack while she was running a half marathon, has vowed to take on the same race again. Felicity Williams ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon last April.
But sadly after reaching the finish line, she learned that her dad Simon Burridge, 66, had suffered a serious cardiac arrest which put him into a coma before his death a few days later. The 33-year-old communications director and barre instructor, said she missed her family’s phone call about her dad as her phone was on do not disturb during the race. It's a trauma that has stayed with her and ever since, she has not ran outdoors and feels she needs to constantly have her phone by her side.
After finishing the race last year in two hours and six minutes, Felicity said she tried to call her parents, but nobody picked up. Shortly after, she spoke to her youngest sister, Katie, who told her what had happened to their father.
Read More: Final call for Covid vaccine booster as council warns the last date for availability is this Sunday
Felicity’s father had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2015, but was given the all-clear a year later. And during his regular check-ups with doctors, he never displayed any symptoms of a heart condition.
On the way to London, Felicity spoke to her parents and said everything seemed normal. She said: “They were in good spirits, and they said to call them when I got to the finish line. I then put my phone on do not disturb – I just wanted to be in the zone.
“I did the race, and I was, naively, completely unaware of the events unfolding at my parents’ house.” When Felicity was able to speak to her sister she learned that their dad had a heart attack moments after getting off the phone earlier that morning and was airlifted to a Bristol hospital from their home in the Cotswolds.
She said: “I was in the middle of all these crowds, and my youngest sister told me there had been an incident at home, and before she said anything else, my heart dropped. I instantly knew that it was something really bad. And actually, despite the mayhem going on around me, it felt like the whole world froze.”
Later it was confirmed that their father had suffered a cardiac arrest and a heart attack and was in the operating theatre for six hours. He was then moved to intensive care and was in an induced coma.
She explained: “When they tried to bring him out, he didn’t, but the amazing cardiologist managed to put a stent in his heart and actually got his heart beating again. He was without oxygen for too long in that initial bit of having a heart attack that his brain damage was too severe, and he passed away nine days later.
“When he was diagnosed with cancer, you could prepare yourself for the worst, but with this, he woke up feeling absolutely fine. He came downstairs, he had breakfast, and was sitting at the kitchen table and just started to complain that he had mild chest pains, but didn’t think anything of it.
“They weren’t severe, but he went to lie down in the sitting room, and my mum got him a glass of water, but just a minute later, she found him unconscious.”
Since the death of her father, Felicity has suffered from PTSD and has not run outside, as she is worried something else terrible will happen. Despite this, Felicity, along with her sister Katie, 28, has decided to run the half marathon again on April 2, for the British Heart Foundation in their dad’s memory, in the hope that she can reframe the experience.
Felicity, who lives in Bristol with her husband, Jamie Williams, and their three children, said: “I haven’t been able to fully relax or be fully in the moment ever since because part of me still thinks, what if I get another call. I thought (running the marathon) would be a good opportunity for closure, to come full circle, and change the narrative on the half marathon.
“Nothing will change what happened to my dad, but I thought to come back to that race, and do some good, could change the negative, associated with the race, into a positive.”
Felicity is currently training for the marathon in the gym, as this allows her to be able to see her phone while running. She said: “I don’t want people to be in the same situation we have had and are still going through. I just want to make my dad proud”.
Anyone wishing to donate to Felicity’s fundraiser can do so at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/runningforbindi.
Read More:
- Bristol teen waiting for heart surgery 'traumatised' by repeat cancellations, say parents
- Families 'in tears' after Bristol children's hospital heart surgery cancellations
- Everyone can now get a free flu jab
- Dad concerned for baby's health living in mouldy, mouse-infested flat
- Disabled man says delayed care bill is making his ‘health worse’
