Heart screenings can save students from heart conditions that can go undetected at the doctor’s office. A national nonprofit called Who We Play For (WWPF) hosts CPR, AED and heart screening events for students and their families.
“It would just be good to know if some of your athletes or one of your students have specific heart defects and they respond differently to certain situations [because of] the abnormalities with their heart,” Corey Burton, who has coached basketball, volleyball, football and lacrosse, said. “You should definitely know and be mindful of certain situations, be a step ahead and be more cautious with that student.”
Volunteering at a WWPF event on Feb. 1, junior Penelope Maynard looks to the West Shore community to support the non-profit organization.
“Who We Play For [has] a bunch of workshops,” Maynard said. “So, if you ever want to volunteer for it, that would be great [since] they are always looking for volunteers. They have a major presence in Edgewood [and] me and a couple of other [students] are thinking of bringing [Who We Play For events] to West Shore. It would be really helpful if anyone interested wanted to be a part of some of [these events]. I’d really like to get more people on the West Shore campus interested and active in Who We Play For.”
The event was organized by Stacy Cartechine, a mother who lost her 21-year-old son, an Edgewood alumnus, to cardiac arrest. These events are held to provide heart screenings and raise awareness of how people can be prepared for cardiac arrest.
“There [were] a couple of people there who have never been to [a Who We Play For] workshop before,” Maynard said. “I think it really helped them understand that cardiac arrest, like in athletes, is a really big issue and to try to be more aware of it and get more heart screenings.”
Knowing CPR, using AEDs, and having other emergency knowledge can be life-saving for someone in need. Junior Rhea Sinha worked with WWPF to host a CPR training session for juniors on Jan. 31.
“There at the workshop teaching CPR — the same person who came [to West Shore] and [helped with the CPR event] — his daughter, who was very athletic, suddenly collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest,” Maynard said. “There were three people there who knew CPR, and they were able to save her life using that knowledge, the same knowledge that was taught at the workshop.”
Besides heart conditions, understanding emergency medical procedures can help with many sudden emergency instances.
“I had this player that had a seizure one time [and] I was the first person that had to respond to it,” Burton said. “Another player responded extremely well to the situation. It’s [important to] be mindful of those situations and be ready to go and take the correct actions. Like the CPR demonstration with professionals the other day for the junior class, I felt like that was extremely beneficial.”
“It sounds really intimidating, a heart screening or CPR, but it’s really not,” Maynard said. “It really only takes five minutes to learn some of [these skills] and then it could be life-saving knowledge. In school, you learn math or history, but you don’t really apply that [immediately]. [For] this [skill set], if you learn it and someone actually collapses, it’s immediate application. So, if you learn anything, I would definitely say learn how to do CPR, [and] learn how to use an AED… [the event is] very educational and I think it’s very important to save some of these athletes who suffer from cardiac arrest.”
By Sonja Konicki