Travis R. Roy Sudden Cardiac Arrest Fund Raising awareness so others may survive

About Travis On May 20, 2005 Travis was three weeks away from graduation from the 8th grade when he collapsed at his middle school in Murrieta, California. He had suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest caused by a previously undiagnosed heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. He was eventually transported to Children’s Hospital in San Diego by helicopter. Travis spent a total of four weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Hospital. An MRI was taken to ascertain the extent of the damage to his brain. The MRI revealed massive brain cell death and damage. Travis had gone 23 minutes without circulation after he collapsed. He was blind, he was completely paralyzed, he could not speak and he could not chew or swallow. Travis died a week later on June 25, He was 14 years old.

SCA Statistics SCA is a leading cause of death in America and ironically, is the most preventable cause of death. More people die from SCA each year than die from AIDS, Breast Cancer, Colon Cancer, Prostate Cancer and Automobile accidents COMBINED! Over 325,000 people die per year from SCA. Approximately 3,200 people die per year from fire. You are 100 times more likely to need an AED than a fire extinguisher – yet AED’s are not required by law in all states.

SCA & Defibrillation

SCA Facts SCA is a “time-critical” medical emergency. The “timeline” (i.e., drop to shock time) is what kills. Survival rate from SCA declines by approximately 10% for each minute without circulation. Brain cell death begins 4 minutes after circulation stops. Approximately 95% of SCA victims die before they reach a hospital. The overall SCA survival rate when CPR is initiated immediately and when an AED is used within the first 3-4 minutes is around 70%*. *City of San Diego – San Diego Project Heartbeat 2008

AED Legislation Federal Law mandates AED’s in every airport and on every commercial airliner. California law requires AED’s in every health club. California ACR-57 urges all schools to implement AED programs. The “Good Samaritan” law in California and many other states protects AED users from liability. As of 2009, only 23 states have laws requiring AED’s in schools.

Paradox On any given weekday,10% of our country’s population are on school campuses. Why are our children, teachers, and school employees safer at 30,000 feet, at an airport, or in a health club than they are at our schools where they spend most of their waking hours? In all cases of disasters schools are the rally point for services to the community, EMS will be busy and unable to respond quickly, stress levels will be high creating a higher probability of SCA. School staff will be first responders yet they are not given the tools they need. They do not have AED’s.

Closing Remarks SCA is a leading cause of death in America killing one person every two minutes. You will need to perform CPR and use an AED long before you will ever need a fire extinguisher. AED’s must be “forward-deployed” at schools and other public facilities. AED’s should be as common as fire extinguishers. CPR should be a graduation requirement.

Thank You