On Monday night, 19th of December, Darren suffered from a heart attack. One of his friends was with him then, and after arriving at the hospital when he was unconscious, a team of medics proceeded with CPR.
Darren’s heart stopped for 45 min. Yep, 45 minutes. You read it correctly. After getting his breathing back and his heart rhythm, he was transferred to Leeds General Hospital, where there is a Cardiac Intensive Care Ward, and he’s been kept in an induced coma.
A lot has happened in the past 14 days, and he’s had amazing care, but some of it we can call a miracle.
On the 3rd day, his heart stopped three times, and he had a pacemaker put in.
On the 4th day, his heart ‘only’ stopped two times when doctors tried to bring him back from an induced coma. A team of doctors was trying to bring him back every day - some of the results were better than others oscillating between getting some response and becoming very aggravated.
And here we are on day 14. Darren has been kept on light sedation for a few days now, breathing on his own, and he’s been talking a lot. He’s still very confused, and he doesn’t exactly know what is going on yet. Doctors are confident If he continues progressing like that, he might be able to move to another ward from the ICU in the next few days. That’s why we need your help.
Darren is a professional pool player with an amazing career and the youngest to be Inducted into The Billiards Congress of America (HALL OF FAME). He’s a multiple World Champion in every American Pool discipline, and in the period of 10 years since he switched from English 8 ball, he’s won everything possible in the game, such as US Open, Gold medal at World Games, World Championships, Mosconi Cup 7 times (with team Europe) to mention a few.
We could go on for a long time listing all his achievements over the years. There’s a long road ahead of Darren leading to him getting back to health. He won’t be able to travel for some time and do what he loves the most - playing and teaching pool.
Everyone who met Darren knows he’s got a big and kind heart and wears it on his sleeve. He always thinks about other people and has helped many over the years. I think it’s safe to say he made his first big step in his recuperation by being moved to a different ward. He showed how much of a fighter he is and his willingness to live.
The first few months of his rehabilitation will be crucial. His family and friends would like to ensure income isn’t something Darren has to be worried about and can fully concentrate on getting back to health. We have set up a goal of £10,000, which would cover Darren’s bills, food, rehabilitation, and medications for the next six months.
From the bottom of our hearts, we humbly ask that you share this link with friends and family and, if possible, in giving (any amount will help).
We thank you for your support and hope Darren will be able to thank you all in person soon.
Family and friends
SPM Billiards Media sends our prayers and hopes Darren will recover fully.