It’s been nearly three years since Grace Firestone beat death. Firestone, now a junior at UD, suffered sudden cardiac arrest two days after graduating from Tower Hill School. She now lives with a defibrillator implanted in her chest.
“I really easily could not be alive,” says Firestone. “It was a matter of seconds.”
As a result of Grace’s experience, her father, Greer Firestone of Wilmington, created the nonprofit Heart In The Game to provide free EKG screening for Delaware youth ages 10 to 19.
According to Firestone, sudden cardiac arrest is the No. 1 medical cause of death in student-athletes, killing 2,000 students a year. ECG screening will detect about 85 percent of the heart conditions that lead to SCA.
After staging a successful inaugural event in January with the Brandywine School District, Heart In The Game will hold its second EKG/ECG heart-screening event at A.I. du Pont High School on April 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be open to all middle school and high school students in Delaware. There is a limit, so sign up now.
New Castle County EMS professionals will be on site to train folks in hands-only CPR and on the use of automated external defibrillators.
The mission of Heart In The Game is to create awareness of SCA in children and young adults through community access programs in ECG screening, CPR training and AED training.
The goal is to screen every middle school and high school student in Delaware for free. The non-invasive test, which takes five minutes, measures and records the electrical activity of the heart. The ECGs are evaluated by pediatric cardiologists within a couple days.
Registration for the April 12 screening is required and handled on a first-come, first-served basis at heartinthegame.org. For more information, contact Firestone at 494-3133 or visit the website.
Health Events
April 1, 8, 15 and 22
Christiana Care: Living With Diabetes
Location Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute, 3506 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, Room 100
Time 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (fee varies depending on your insurance)
More info. To register, call 661-3000.
April 3, 10 and 17
Christiana Care: Caregivers Education Series
Location Eugene du Pont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute, 3506 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, Room 100
Time 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
More info. To register, call 327-5201 or visit christianacare.org.
April 8
Bayhealth Medical Center: Tobacco Cessation Program (seven weeks)
Location Bayhealth Milford Memorial, Rehab Conference Room, 21 W. Clarke Ave., Milford
Time 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
More info. Free to Delaware residents (18 and older). To register, call (877) 453-7107. Call 744-6724 for more information.
