John Mcnab, 25, died after he was allegedly stabbed in Edinburgh’s Leith on September 2.
The mum of a young Scot who was allegedly stabbed to death is handing out bleed kits to the public in order to prevent further tragedies. Lisa Petrie, 44, lost her 25-year-old son, John Mcnab, after he was fatally injured on September 2 in Leith, Edinburgh.
Mercy crews raced to the incident on Great Junction Street but John could sadly not be saved.
Lisa has since been handing out medical packs to treat severe bleeding as she begged: “I want things to change. I don’t want another family to be in this situation.”
The mother is also training people in the capital on how to use the packs. A 16-year-old boy appeared in court charged with John’s murder on September 4.
The male youth, who we cannot name for legal reasons, was also charged with allegedly carrying a blade. He made no plea or declaration.
Speaking to the BBC, Lisa said: “The best way I can describe it is my whole world is a black hole right now. We were best pals, me and John, we were inseparable at times, and now I’ve lost my right arm and my left leg.”
In the weeks after the tragedy, the mother alongside her best friend, Pauline Bowie, set about making bleed control packs available in public areas. More than 3,000 of the kits are accessible in community settings across England, but so far very few are available in Scotland.
Lisa became involved at the suggestion of Pauline from Lower Income Families Together, a community project based in the city’s Muirhouse area.
Pauline said: “There were 3,000-odd in England and six in Scotland – and three of them are in locked cabinets in train stations,” said Pauline. So I showed Lisa and said, why don’t we look at this.”
Lisa and Pauline decided to bulk buy ready-made bleed kits online and have added extra medical equipment such as foil blankets. Their packs include a tourniquet, a clot bandage, gloves, bandages for sealing wounds, gauze and scissors.
The women have launched a campaign named ‘Lives influenced for tomorrow – not in vain’. They have put together 24 kits so far.
Lisa said: “They’re not just for stabbings, it’s for intense bleeding. It could be from a fall, or a car accident. They’re amazing. My ambition is to get them far and wide all around Edinburgh.
“I’ve donated four already, two to pubs, one to Leith Athletics Football Club and one to a Tesco.”
She continued: “I’ve done the training so when I’m dispensing these kits I can show people how to use them. The training was very difficult. I think I cried through the majority of it. It showed what to do if you have a wound on the arm, a wound on the leg, or an abdominal wound. It was hard, but it gave me more drive to think that these need to be accessible.”
Pauline added: “We wanted to do it in John’s memory because we want his death to not be in vain. Everywhere should have them. Next to the first aid kit and the defibrillator, should be a bleed kit.”
