A special halftime tribute at the Minnesota State High School League Boys’ Basketball Tournament will honor the heroes who saved Zach Gabbard, a Perham High School basketball player who suffered sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) during a game on Jan. 20, 2011. Members of Zach’s family and friends will be in attendance.
The tribute will be held on Friday, March 25 during halftime of the 6:00 p.m. Class AA semifinal game at Target Center.
• Steve Gabbard, Zach’s father, will tell the emotional story of his son collapsing and why CPR and AED training programs are critical to saving lives.
• Denise Cuchna, RN, who was one of the first bystanders to respond after Zach collapsed, performing CPR and using an AED to help revive him.
• Jody Redman and Joan Mellor, co-creators of the MSHSL’s Anyone Can Save a Life program, which are critical to creating “heart safe” schools—covering everything from recognizing the signs and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest to helping prevent potential SCA attacks, to the latest in CPR and AED education, including development of emergency response plans. In fact, it is because of the Anyone Can Save a Life program that Zach’s lifesaving AED was placed in the Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School where he collapsed.
• Craig Anderson, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School athletic and activities director, who was responsible for placing an AED in the school through the Anyone Can Save a Life program, ultimately saving Zach’s life.
The Anyone Can Save a Life program is an emergency response program for after-school practices and events. With this program, schools are equipped and prepared to respond to life-threatening emergencies that may take place during after-school athletic and activity practices and events. www.anyonecansavealife.org
The HeartRescue Project’s goal is to improve how Sudden Cardiac Arrest is recognized, treated and measured on a larger scale. This Medtronic Foundation-funded project expands SCA community response systems by coordinating education, training and the application of high-tech treatments among the public, first responders, emergency medical services (EMS) and hospitals. www.heartrescueproject.com
SCA is the leading killer of young athletes. The people who responded to Zach’s SCA helped him beat the odds, as the overall nationwide survival rate is only 8 percent. Fortunately, as Zach’s story shows, SCA is treatable with a quick and effective community-driven response.
No comments:
Post a Comment