Edmonds parents band together to stop avoidable deaths
Nov 21, 2013, 4:06 PM | Updated: 4:22 pm
In the wake of the tragic death of an Edmonds teen from an undetected heart condition, parents in the Edmonds School District are coming together to try and prevent it from happening again.
Seemingly healthy Meadowdale High School student Matthew Truax, 16, suffered sudden cardiac arrest and died Sept. 13 while running in gym class.
“Matthew’s school had four AED’s [automated external defibrillator] but they couldn’t get to the closest one from where he collapsed and back in time,” says Darla Varrenti with the Seattle-based Nick of Time Foundation.
The organization, founded after her son Nick collapsed and died from sudden cardiac arrest brought on by a similar condition as Matthew suffered, was successful in partnering with the Seattle School District to get AED’s installed at every school and district run athletic field.
Now, they are working with concerned parents and community members to do the same thing in Snohomish County.
“We’re going to reevaluate district policy and determine if there are enough AED’s in each school and also work to to get them at every community center and sports field,” Varrenti says.
Varrenti says the goal is to ultimately get AED’s installed in every school across the state. But it takes community involvement, fundraising and partnerships with organizations like the Seahawks – who helped make the Seattle AED’s possible – in order to make it happen.
“They should be everywhere so that everyone can be protected because sudden cardiac arrest doesn’t discriminate,” she says. “And the awareness piece is just as huge. People need to know where AED’s are, how to use them, and how to do hands-only CPR.”
In addition to working to get AED’s installed everywhere, the Nick of Time Foundation also conducts screenings across the country to detect heart conditions in young people and prevent more avoidable deaths like those that struck Matthew and Nick.
The group launching the new Heart of Edmonds Schools and Meadowdale Community AED project meets for the first time Thursday evening at the Meadowdale High School Library from 7pm -8pm.
