“There is NO WAY we could have known about this potentially fatal condition that our son has. He would have gotten no care at all and this could have ended… tragically."
Heart Notes
Messages from families impacted by just1mike.org
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I can’t put into words how grateful I am to just1mike and the Brindley family for the screening they organized and sponsored at Hinsdale Central High School.
My son, Sam, was just another sophomore, going about his routine. That August, I accompanied him to take care of all the pre-school year bureaucracy. You know – forms, fees, scheduling… there was table after table of clubs and meetings and registrations. One of the tables hosted registration for an ECG screening, and I signed him up for that along with everything else, not giving it a second thought.
A month later was the just1mike day at school – I hadn’t even put it on my calendar, because it never occurred to me in a million years that it was critical to our family.
We were shocked at the results.
Shocked.
Our baby has Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. We would never have known! The ECG had shown something irregular, and the Young Hearts for Life medical staff who partner with just1mike called me that afternoon. We didn’t really know the extent of the problem until Sam’s cardiologist appointment. They rushed us in only three days later! Two hospitals and loads of tests later, we got the diagnosis. WPW means there’s an extra electrical pathway between the upper and lower chambers of Sam’s heart, so the valves don’t always open correctly. Sam hadn’t experienced any of the typical symptoms, so it was hidden: it was exactly the type of congenital heart defect just1mike is attempting to identify.
There is NO WAY we could have known about this potentially fatal condition that our son has. He would have gotten no care at all and this could have ended… tragically.
We’re so, so lucky. Both because our son is now being monitored by a cardiologist and because Sam doesn’t currently need surgery. Now, we know what to look for and we know how to be on top of it. Sam has begun raising funds to help purchase equipment for more screenings. His life was saved so he’d like to help saves the lives of others in return.
Thank you so much, just1mike, for literally saving his life. With proper care, he can go on to achieve all his dreams and continue to make us proud. -
It was my second time volunteering as a team member for just1Mike who partners with Young Hearts for Life providing free cardiac screenings for students. Myself and another volunteer were nearing the end of our shift. The other volunteer attached the leads as I took student information. We ran the ECG test and gave it to the physician on call who read the result. The physician ran the ECG test again and then we detached the leads from the student. As we prepared for the next student, the physician returned and said “Congratulations - you just saved a life.” In theory, you understand that just1mike was founded to save lives and spare other families from suffering the devastating loss of a child to sudden cardiac death. In reality, comprehending lives are saved is truly overwhelming. It is a moment I will never forget and it is why I will forever continue to volunteer for just1mike.
- Hinsdale, IL -
To put it simply, my son is alive today because of Just1Mike.
In June 2022, when he was just 16 years old, my son collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest while playing pickup basketball with friends. He was a fit, vibrant, and seemingly healthy competitive soccer player, with no family history of heart disease. There were no warning signs. No reason to suspect his heart could just stop.
Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has a survival rate of only about 10%, so the odds were truly stacked against my son that day. Thankfully a few months earlier Just1Mike had installed a publicly accessible AED tower right next to the basketball courts. When the 911 dispatcher asked, “Is there an AED nearby?”—the answer, miraculously, was yes.
Bystanders were able to grab the AED and use it within minutes of his collapse. That immediate action saved his life. Because of Just1Mike, my son not only survived—he made a full recovery.
I will be forever grateful for the gift Just1Mike gave to me and my family. It was a part of Just1Mike’s mission—to make AEDs accessible—that gave my son another chance at life. Every child deserves that same chance.