GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. – The mother of a former Archer High School football player who died after collapsing at a college football practice made a life-saving donation to a fellow Gwinnett County high school on Tuesday.
Michelle Wilson gifted the athletics department at Seckinger High School a brand-new AED in memory of her son Nick Blakely.
Who is Nick Blakely?
The backstory:
Nick Blakely was a graduate of Archer High School, who went on to play Division 1 college football at Stetson University in Florida.
Blakely had dreams of eventually going to the NFL. Those dreams were crushed when he collapsed on the field during a football practice in 2017.
Blakely died on the field. It was later determined he had gone into Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
What is sudden cardiac arrest?
What we know:
Sudden cardiac arrest is a life-threatening condition where a person’s heart suddenly stops beating properly.
It is the number one cause of death for student athletes on school campuses.
There are often no warning signs, but symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or heart palpitations during activity.
One in 300 youths have a detectable heart condition that could lead to Sudden Cardiac Arrest. 80 percent have no symptoms prior to going into cardiac arrest.
Why you should care:
Blakely’s death, along with Buford Middle School student athlete Jeremy Nelson’s passing in 2013, prompted Georgia state lawmakers to pass a bill requiring student athletes to learn the signs of Sudden Cardiac Arrest and be reviewed by coaches each year. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed the bill into law on May 2, 2019.
Through the Nick Blakely Foundation, Wilson is keeping her son’s legacy alive and trying to prevent other student athletes from suffering the same fate as her son.
She has donated nearly a dozen defibrillators to sports groups and schools around the state. On Tuesday, she gifted an AED to Seckinger High School.
Wilson has also partnered with Gwinnett County Parks to hold annual heart screening clinics that are free for anyone ages 10-22.
What’s next:
The next free screening clinic will take place on March 22 at Rhodes Jordan Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Source: Information in this story came from previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting and the National Institute of Health.
This content is reposted from the source: https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/mom-archer-football-player-who-died-field-honors-his-memory-aed-donation
