Magno Vieira has hung up his professional football boots and started a new career as a Harcourt’s Real Estate Consultant. Committed to the Paekākāriki community, Magno would like to give something back every time he sells a house here. The donation of a cabinet to the Paekākāriki Sports Club for their automated external defibrillator (AED) means that the whole community can access this life-saving device. paekakariki.nz spoke to Magno and Michael Lloyd from the club.
Magno Vieira:
Most people who know me will know that I have recently started this new journey as a Real Estate Consultant with Harcourts and I thought it would be good to give something back to this community that has been so good to me and my family.
With my link to football I thought about approaching the football club first to see if there’s anything I could donate. Michael Lloyd mentioned that the club needed an AED cabinet. We thought that was not just a donation to the Club but for the whole community and we all agreed it would be a great first donation.
I plan to give more donations with every house I sell in the village so hopefully there’s more to come!
Michael Lloyd:
It was absolutely brilliant to be donated this cabinet. The AED has been sitting in the dugout in a box and out of sight – which means out of mind! Magno’s donation of the AED cabinet means we were able to mount it outside so it becomes both visible and easy to access for everyone.
Its positioning on the outside of the Memorial Hall (and our football dugout) means it is available to members of the public who are likely to be engaged in physical activity (at Campbell Park/the beach/Caroline Boyd running event, etc).
Its visibility also means that anyone nearby at home might be reminded to use it if the situation arises. I know of a situation just recently where I knew that an AED was present at the dugout and this allowed me to make a plan to access it if I believed the situation became more critical.
It’s very simple to use. To open the box you need the code via a 111 call. Once opened, the defibrillator comes with a sheet of instructions/diagrams that are quick and easy to follow. The process means that because the defibrillator is used as a First Aid device, an ambulance will also be on its way.
Last year several incidents across the Wellington region required the use of AEDs during football matches. Though, thankfully, that number is low, the ready access to AEDs meant better outcomes than may have been the case otherwise.
Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are medical devices that send electric pulses to a person’s heart, restoring a normal heart beat. AEDs restore a normal heartbeat when someone is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or when their heart has stopped.
Another publicly accessible defibrillator is located at:
- The Paekākāriki Bowling Club, 10 Wellington Road (on the front of the building)
The Paekākāriki Fire Service has one located on their truck.
Paekākāriki.nz is a community-built, funded and run website. All funds go to weekly running costs, with huge amounts of professional work donated behind the scenes. If you can help financially, at a time when many supporting local businesses are hurting, we have launched a donation gateway.
