Training to save lives; student athletes honor boy who died of unexplained cardiac arrest
WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death of young athletes, according to the Mayo Clinic, a fact that became all too real for a local mother when it happened to her son back in 2010.
He died. After that, she founded Aidan’s Heart Foundation to honor her son and train other young people on what to do when someone collapses.
Christy Marshall-Siva said, "Aidan was my oldest child. He was seven years old, in perfect health and never had any symptoms of a heart issue. Suddenly, 14 years ago, at age seven, of unexplained cardiac arrest, he passed away."
On the eve of that awful day, Christy continues to make it her mission to help save others from what happened. As a new school year gets underway, young people are being instructed on what to do in a similar emergency.
Adam Pontzer, a Henderson High School senior, said, "I don’t want to have to save someone. I’d rather go through life not having to use this, but if I need to, it’s an amazing feeling knowing I could do this, if I needed. I could make an impact and save a person’s life."
"If someone starts hands-only CPR for when someone goes down, there is a 90 percent chance of survival," stated Anthony Fiore, another Henderson High School senior.
"We have classmates that are helping teach other classmates. It's a win-win situation for all," commented Steve Fitch, Henderson High School Athletic Director.
Brady Roudabush, a senior at Henderson High School, believes more people should be trained. "If more people do that, there's so many more people you can help, because there's not always going to be a lifeguard there, an EMT there. If someone goes down at a house or a diner, you need to be able to help them."
Downingtown 6th graders train to be certified in CPR and AED
Giving kids the tools to save a life, as Downingtown sixth graders trained and certified in CPR and AED use. Sixth graders are strong enough to perform CPR and Downingtown students are taking the lead in teaching it.
Jason Rice, also a senior at Henderson High, added, "My work here training my peers means that if there's ever an accident or something on the sports team, it's more likely to end up well."
"The amount of people that Aidan's Heart is training is just unreal," said Jordan Jonas, a trainer at Henderson High School.
Cardiac arrest is surprisingly one of the leading causes of death of students and student athletes on school grounds.
And sometimes, Christy finds out that all her work and this training can pay off. Christy just heard from a seventh grader she certified in CPR last spring. "She emailed me today, and it was a one-sentence, simplistic email, 'I learned CPR last year, and this Saturday I used it to save my dad's life. He's in the hospital. I'll keep you posted.'"