Sudbury family raises money to buy defibrillator for Lake Panache cottage community

Kathryn Dodd-Digby vividly remembers calling for help as her brother, Geoffrey, performed CPR on their father as they waited for paramedics to arrive. Tragically, she says, their efforts weren't enough to save him.

Tim Dodd, 74, died last Monday, following a cardiac arrest at his Lake Panache cottage. 

Dodd-Digby, says her father's chances of survival would have been higher if the family had access to an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) at the time. 

"It happened so quickly and slowly at the same time," she said.

'Can't imagine this happening to anybody else'

While the wound is still fresh, Dodd-Digby says her family is seizing the opportunity to create positive change from the sudden loss of her father. 

"I can't imagine this happening to anybody else," she said, "It was, you know, quite devastating for our family and especially my son who was there."

And they hope to keep her family's tragedy from being repeated, she said. 

"A lot of the camps and cottages are, you know, boat-access-only. There usually is quite a risk being that distanced [from] either the heli-pad or ambulance access. That's just kind of the risk we take of being out on the lake," she said.

"We understand that, but having a first aid station available close to camp would have helped dramatically." 

$10K fundraising goal

On Monday, the family reached its goal of raising $10,000 to buy an AED for the cottage community.

Dodd-Digby said the family also has plans to work with the Lake Panache Campers Association to improve mapping of the area, so future campers will be better equipped should an emergency arise.

The incident has been extremely painful, but Dodd-Digby said her family has found purpose in their fundraising efforts. 

"We knew that's where my dad wanted to be, that was his happy place and to honour him in this way, and remember him in this way — it's amazing to be able to do that," she said.