The family of a rugby player who died suddenly have raised more than £5,000 for Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation, which went towards two new defibrillators.
Chris Fryer, from Castletown, died last April at the age of 32.
He was well known in the Manx rugby community, having played for Western Vikings RUFC since 2017.
His family chose the locations for the defibrillators, with the first to be installed in the Vikings’ clubhouse, as it did not previously have one - and its metal case carries an inscription dedicated to Chris.
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The second will be a public defibrillator that will be installed on the exterior of Castletown Civic Centre, where anyone can easily access it in an emergency.
Chris’s mother, Jenny Fryer, said that its case will also bear a dedication, in the form of a picture of a drum kit with the inscription ’the beat goes on’ - chosen because Chris was a ’fanatical’ drummer, having got his first kit in 2003 when he was 16.
Asked about Chris, who worked at IT company Derivco, Jenny said that he was ’fun loving, and he would do anything for anybody’.
She said he enjoyed spending time with his family, and loved art - having taken classes.
He was also a big Lego fan, and had built a large collection of Star Wars models.
In addition to the defibrillators, the Fryer family also presented Craig’s Heartstrong with a cheque for £1,738.69 from the ’Christopher James Fryer Memorial Fund’.
The fundraising included a memorial match played by the Western Vikings, in which Chris’s younger sister participated on a non-contact basis - followed by a raffle at the Creek Inn in Peel.
Chris’s other sister, Laura, also engaged in her own fundraising - having raised £400 for Craig’s Heartstrong with activities like 5km running challenges.
The family has also made a donation of £2,400 to Noble’s Hospital, to go towards a target of £5,000 for a piece of equipment at the special baby care unit at Noble’s.
This was done because Chris was born prematurely at 32 weeks, and had been in the unit’s care.
Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation was established by the family of Craig Lunt, a local footballer whose sudden death in 2005 was caused by an undetected heart condition. The foundation provides defibrillators across the island, in locations ranging from sports clubs to public places.