Middle school player dies during game

[BayStateRef]

Originally Posted by Ignats75

There has been a rather ineffective grass roots push to put defibrillators in every school gym in Ohio. I don't know where that push is as of now, but here's another reminder that no matter the cost, its less than a 14 year old child's life.

While we're at it, let's put one in every Denny's. And every McDonald's. And every church. And every automobile. And then....let's put one in....

I presume the Ohio schools are as large as those around here. And I presume that they are "locked" except for the gym on weekends when the youth leagues play. So how many defibs do we need? One for the gym; one for the auditorium; one for the cafeteria. Then one for each floor. And then....make sure to have a paramedic or RN or EMT or someone proficient enough to use it in an emergency.

I don't believe the answer to this tragedy is defibs in the school. Sometimes tragedies occur. We don't always know what's happening with a human heart. Let's not pretend we can prevent every death, "if only....."

[Ignats75]

Comparing a gym to a Denny's is hardly apples to oranges. There have been too many stories of kids dropping dead from hidden heart problems.

[bigdogrunnin]

FIVE young athletes died in the Houston, Texas area earlier this fall in a period of THREE weeks. In all five cases, there was found to be a defect in the heart that basically amounted to a "ticking timebomb." Would defibrilators have helped them, probably not. HOWEVER, I am also aware of no fewer than FIVE instances in Southeast Texas where athletes were revived using the defibrilators, and went on to live happy, healthly, and athletic lives.

Personally, I don't think it is too much to ask to have at least ONE available on every campus in America. Are they expensive, YES, are they worth it . . . I say YES!

Here in New York, schools have been required to have an AED on site since 2002.
Under Public Health Law 3000-b all school districts, BOCES, county vocational education and extension boards, and charter schools must provide and maintain on-site, in each instructional school facility, at least one functional automated external defibrillator (AED) for use during emergencies. The legislation also requires public school officials and administrators responsible for such school facilities to ensure the presence of at least one staff person who is trained in the operation and use of an AED.

Obviously it's not going to help all the time but it certainly won't help if it isn't there. We have them mounted right outside the gyms.

[TimTaylor]

And AED's aren't that hard to use. Red Cross now includes the training as a part of their CPR course - at least in this neck of the woods.......

They are so easy to use that anyone with just a little common sense could open one up and use it without ever seeing one first. They show you where to put the patches and they won't 'fire' unless the persons condition warrants it. They are well worth the minor expense to put one in each school or community center. Many can be purchased for less than $2000.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by PYRef

They are so easy to use that anyone with just a little common sense could open one up and use it without ever seeing one first. They show you where to put the patches and they won't 'fire' unless the persons condition warrants it. They are well worth the minor expense to put one in each school or community center. Many can be purchased for less than $2000.

They're virtually idiot-proof. Athletic departments should have them; and coaches should be required to know how to use them.

[Texref]

Originally Posted by BayStateRef

While we're at it, let's put one in every Denny's. And every McDonald's. And every church. And every automobile. And then....let's put one in....

I presume the Ohio schools are as large as those around here. And I presume that they are "locked" except for the gym on weekends when the youth leagues play. So how many defibs do we need? One for the gym; one for the auditorium; one for the cafeteria. Then one for each floor. And then....make sure to have a paramedic or RN or EMT or someone proficient enough to use it in an emergency.

I don't believe the answer to this tragedy is defibs in the school. Sometimes tragedies occur. We don't always know what's happening with a human heart. Let's not pretend we can prevent every death, "if only....."

Using that logic we shouldn't have fire extinguishers anywhere either, afterall, they can't prevent every fire. The more that you can do to protect the athletes, or help to revive them after they collapse, the better off everyone will be. AED's are still kind of expensive ($1500+) but that cost is well worth it if it is used just once to help save a life.

Here is a direct quote from the American Heart Association on AEDs and their use:

About 250,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest. Defibrillation is the only known therapy to treat an individual in cardiac arrest. The delivering of an electrical shock to the heart can restore the heart's normal rhythm. However, it must be done within minutes of the arrest. For every minute that passes without defibrillation, a victim's chance of survival decreases by seven to 10 percent. After as few as 10 minutes, very few resuscitation attempts are successful

In addition to athletes dying (sp?) on the court, you also have to think about officials. In the North Texas area alone, at least TWO officials have died in the last year while on the court working games. Could an AED have saved them, I don't know, but it definately would not have hurt their chances.

Give at least the athletic department an AED. From there, you can look to add additional AEDs based on the size of the school and the population of the school, just like you do for fire extinguishers. Give it 10 years, and everywhere that you find a fire extinguisher, you will find an AED.

[tjones1]

Simply a sad story... that's all that needs to be said!

[refnrev]

Originally Posted by tjones1

Simply a sad story... that's all that needs to be said!

_____________________

Ditto!

[jmaellis]

Originally Posted by BayStateRef

While we're at it, let's put one in every Denny's. And every McDonald's. And every church. And every automobile. And then....let's put one in....

I presume the Ohio schools are as large as those around here. And I presume that they are "locked" except for the gym on weekends when the youth leagues play. So how many defibs do we need? One for the gym; one for the auditorium; one for the cafeteria. Then one for each floor. And then....make sure to have a paramedic or RN or EMT or someone proficient enough to use it in an emergency.

I don't believe the answer to this tragedy is defibs in the school. Sometimes tragedies occur. We don't always know what's happening with a human heart. Let's not pretend we can prevent every death, "if only....."

A truly asinine statement!!

AED are very simple to use and don't require any specialized training ... just follow the instructions, they are idiot proof, cept for the idiots who don't think that they are a good idea to have at hand.

Many of the high school age sudden cardiac deaths during athletics turn out to be attributed to a condition called long Q-T syndrome, symptoms typically don't appear until adolescence. An AED could save the life of a kid who goes down because of this problem. I did a lot of research on this recently when my 14 year old daughter began fainting during volleyball practice. The doctor's initial thought was long Q-T syndrome (it turns out not to be the problem). I hadn't thought about finding out if there is an AED in the gym at her high school until read this thread. I'm going to find out now and if there is not, well, I guess it's fund raising time.