Heartbroken Bangor mum on keeping her son’s memory alive after his sudden death from rare condition at 27

A heartbroken Northern Ireland[1] mum has opened up on the tragic loss of her only son from a rare heart condition earlier this year. The friends and family of Co Down[2] man Jack Cummings were left devastated by his sudden and untimely death on Sunday, 19th May. Jack, originally from Bangor[3], was a serving West Yorkshire police officer and just 27 years old when he passed away while driving to work on a busy motorway in the north of England.

Jack was just five days away from marking his 28th birthday and living near Huddersfield when he suffered an aortic dissection[6] - a tear in the wall of his heart - a very rare condition[7] for one so young. To his friends and work colleagues, Jack has been remembered as hard working and someone who was well liked by all with a cheerful personality that provided plenty of laughs and memorable moments. To his family[8], Jack was a much loved only child of Brenda and Nicholas, an adored grandson, cherished nephew and cousins and devoted partner to his girlfriend Brooke.

His mum Brenda told Belfast Live[9]: "Jack's death was such a shock and came completely out of the blue with no warning signs or symptoms. He had moved to England for university and was six months into his dream job as a firearms officer in Wakefield."

She added: "The police came to our door in Bangor at 1.30 in the morning last May with the news about Jack and never did I think that would happen to us. "Jack had been to the gym that day and then got into his car at 7.30 that night to go to work.

He had rang Brooke, his partner of over two years, because it was her birthday the next day and he had pulled off the motorway to his exit and ten minutes later he had died in the car." She added: "Jack was a very fit person, who played rugby for Bangor and Sullivan and American football at university. He was also into kickboxing, rowing and fencing.

This happened to a young man with no history of serious illness and as a child he was never sick or missed a day of school. "To lose your son at 27 under those circumstances has been very traumatic and difficult to come to terms with. He was our only child and as such we were very close and our whole life revolved around him.

"He and Brooke had great plans for the future and she had quickly become part of our family because she's so lovely and special."

In the wake of his death, Jack's family, friends and work colleagues set up a GoFundMe page[10] in his memory which has raised over GBP6,000 for Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) and Care of Police Survivors (COPS). Nadia Duncan, Donor Development Manager at Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke told us: "We are always so overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of families like The Cummings, who at such a difficult and sad time of deep personal loss, still want to do something positive to help others in their recovery from chest, heart and stroke conditions and help us continue to invest in research projects so that hopefully one day, other families will not have to go through the sudden loss of a loved one from one of these illnesses."

She added: "When combined, deaths from CHS conditions remain the number one cause of death in Northern Ireland and 641,644 people are currently on registers here for these illnesses. As a charity almost 90% of all our income is only thanks to donations from the public and we are so grateful for this incredible gift to us in memory of and in tribute to Jack.

"This year almost 35,000 people and organisations benefitted from our care and health promotion services and we are so grateful to everyone who supports us and enables us to continue our vital work in local communities." Brenda works for Barclays Bank in Bangor and last month her work colleagues took on a sponsored walk in the Mourne Mountains to raise funds for NICHS. She also plans to fundraise for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY)[11] in the future.

The charity aims to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths by promoting awareness, conducting screenings and supporting affected families. She added: "I wasn't aware of CRY at the time of Jack's death and only came across this charity a few weeks later. They offer screenings in Northern Ireland for young people under the age of 35 and they do so much good work with young people and supporting families.

While these screenings would never have saved Jack, they may save someone else."

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References

1. ^ Northern Ireland (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
2. ^ Co Down (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
3. ^ Bangor (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
4. ^ Brave NI mum on her devastating heart failure diagnosis at just 32 (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
5. ^ NI man on his 'frightening warning' to spread awareness of 'silent killer' (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
6. ^ aortic dissection (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
7. ^ very rare condition (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
8. ^ family (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
9. ^ Belfast Live (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
10. ^ GoFundMe page (www.gofundme.com)
11. ^ Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) (www.c-r-y.org.uk)
12. ^ Click this link (chat.whatsapp.com)
13. ^ Privacy Notice (www.reachplc.com)
14. ^ here (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
15. ^ sign up to our daily newsletter (www.belfastlive.co.uk)