Lynne’s legacy: Community protects Calahonda with 6th defibrillator

A bereaved Calahonda family has helped turn personal tragedy into a potentially life-saving legacy with the installation of a new public defibrillator outside one of their favourite local bars.

Paul, a local resident who recently lost his wife, Lynne, wanted to use donations received in her memory to purchase a defibrillator for the community.

The equipment was installed outside The Far Post in Calahonda recently, following additional fundraising by the bar and a contribution from Gerry Hannam’s Save a Life campaign.

The installation is the sixth defibrillator in Calahonda provided through the initiative, according to Save a Life, and covers a busy local shopping area.

A lasting tribute to Lynne

Paul and his daughter Millie have been thanked for choosing to turn their loss into something that could benefit other families. Save a Life said the project had been made possible through the family’s generosity, fundraising by The Far Post and donations from members of the community.

The campaign added that Lynne’s memory would live on through equipment that could one day help save someone’s life.

An automated external defibrillator (AED) can help restore a normal heart rhythm during certain types of cardiac arrest. Used promptly together with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), it can improve a person’s chances of survival greatly.

Growing interest in publicly available life-saving equipment

Save a Life, founded by Gerry and Jenny Hannam after he survived a cardiac arrest in London in December 2024, has been working to increase access to publicly available defibrillators across the Mijas area.

The campaign combines fundraising for equipment with efforts to raise awareness of CPR and the importance of acting quickly during a cardiac emergency.

The latest installation goes to show the continued interest from residents and local businesses in funding and placing defibrillators where they can be accessed when needed.

Save a Life says its wider goal is to help make Mijas a cardio-protective community, where life-saving equipment is more readily available and people are better prepared to respond to cardiac emergencies.