STANWOOD, Wash. — Dillon Gilman was just 15 years old when he died of sudden cardiac arrest. He would have been a sophomore at Stanwood High School this year.
At the time he seemed healthy, but a hidden heart condition claimed his life.
“I was in shock,” said longtime friend Lucas Gaydeski. “I mean, like really in shock.”
On Tuesday, more than 700 people gathered to honor Dillon’s memory by working to protect their own health. The Nick of Time Foundation hosted free screenings for students, checking for undiagnosed heart issues that standard sports physicals often miss.
“Dillon’s death kind of snapped everybody into reality that sudden things can happen at any time,” said Dillon’s friend Jaxson Beard.
The screenings included electrocardiograms, or EKGs, which are quick tests that measure heart function but aren’t part of standard school physicals. The foundation has screened more than 33,000 students in the past 20 years, detecting over 650 hidden heart conditions. Organizers say at least one problem was identified at Tuesday’s event.
Kayla Burt, a former University of Washington basketball player and cardiac arrest survivor, said immediate CPR and access to a defibrillator are critical. “Without early CPR and a defibrillator, the chances of survival are very slim. I was one of the lucky ones,” she said.
Families who have lost children to hidden heart conditions say screenings can make the difference. Melinda Truax, whose 16-year-old son Matthew died from a sudden cardiac arrest, said the test could have saved his life. “If my son had had a simple 12-lead EKG that takes about 10 minutes, we would have known he had a heart defect,” she said.
The Nick of Time Foundation also trains students in CPR and helps schools install defibrillators.
Friends believe Dillon would be proud to know his story is saving others. “He’s looking down on us, happy to believe that other lives are being saved,” Beard said.
About one in 250 youth athletes in Washington has a heart disorder. Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes during or immediately after exercise.
트위터 공유: 숨겨진 심장 비밀 찾기 청소년을 기리는 생명 지키기 검진 행렬