SADS Foundation :: Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation

Let me start this by telling you a little bit about Jo. Jo has been a very sport-affiliated child. He has played baseball since the age of 5, softball since the age of 7, and Pee Wee football since the age of 9. He is very athletic. He has played in USSSA World Tournaments and ASA World Tournaments all over the world and holds many first place honors. He got to Jr. High and decided to play football. I was all for it.

On September the 18th he had a game in Elton. I followed the bus to Elton. After they warmed up, the game started. On the first play in action, Jo hit the ground like a ton of bricks. I thought he just got the breath knocked out of him. It took a few minutes and he got up. He never complained or anything. During that next week, he went to every practice and the next game was coming up.

It was September 25, an ordinary day. His grandparents were coming in from Texas to see his first home game. I had cooked as usual, waiting for my parents. They arrived in time to go to the game. There we saw Jo exercising and all. They ran through the banner, full of energy to the sideline. The ball was snapped, the tackle was made, and a few seconds later, it seemed like an instant replay. Jo made a few steps, turned, and hit the ground. I waited for him to get up. By the time I got to him, his dad was assisting him. He was vomiting, blue in the face, no response. I was hollering for him to answer me. He was in cardiac arrest. When I looked back, his dad, uncle, and various EMT's were doing CPR. I just lost it. It seemed like forever for help to get there. The ambulance arrived and shocked him 4 times. He was in arrest for 8 minutes. I knew that he was going to the hospital, so I left, and was later called to see where I wanted him Life-flighted. I told them Lake Charles. When I arrived, so did the helicopter that he was in. He was intubated for 24 hours. He stayed in ICU for 7 days. The doctor still had no reason for this. His heart was perfect. After his release we made many trips back and forth to the doctor. The cardiologist diagnosed him with Prolonged QT Syndrome. He had been consulting with Texas Childrens Hospital, in Houston, Texas. We left for there in ambulance. They had come up with the diagnosis of Prolonged QT Syndrome. We were there for 10 days. An ICD was implanted in him on October 19.

We have had to make a few changes in our life for this. It is very hard for Jo to accept, because he still wants to do everything like sports and all. I tell him that his life is more important. That maybe one day he can be that coach, instead of that player on that field.