Devon’s Beat is Back and Ready to Fight SADS [INTERVIEW]

Devon Parrott, now 12 years old, was walking to class one day when he collapsed in the hallway. He woke up on his own -he was lucky to be alive.  Last year, I had the chance to talk with Angela, Devon's Mom, about something I'd never really thought much about: SADS. Now we've all learned a little about it, and Mid Missouri has really worked to raise money and awareness about this terrible and silent killer.The new Walk and Run is approaching faster by the day. The third annual Devon’s Beat 5k is Saturday April 4th 2015. They reminded me of the accomplishments  they've made over the past two and half years:
· First Devon’s beat 2013 we raised over $10,000 (over $7,000 went to SADS and $3,000 was set aside for heart screenings)
· 2nd Devon’s beat 2014 we raised right around $10,000 (over $6,000 went to SADS and almost $4,000 was set aside for screenings.)
· October 25th, 2014 we held our first heart screenings for kids’ ages 13-18 with Saint Luke's of Kansas City in Clinton. 40 kids were screened with 1 test having to be looked at further. All 40 kids were approved to continue with competitive sports.

· November 8th 2014 we had our 2nd screening for kids ages 9-29 at Lincoln High school. We screened 38 kids. 4 were found to have abnormal EKGs, 13 had previously undetected Heart murmurs. And we had 1 previously undiagnosed PFO (patent foramen ovale) which is a small hole located in the atrial septum that usually closes when a baby takes its first breath. All 38 were deemed safe to play sports and not high risk. But recommendations were made for 18 kids to be rechecked once they hit puberty.

Now that's a lot of accomplishments!  The goals for this year are pushing ahead just a little farther, though. They hope to do all this:

· 2 more heart screenings and open up the screenings to other local schools.
· Expand Devon’s Beat 5k run to Springfield,  to raise money for screenings in their community for kids and young adults.

I got to talk with Angela Parrot again about the walk, about Devon, and about SADS... along with what you can do to help.

SADS  or Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome Condition, may not be something you're used to thinking about.  But, if you'll join Angela and the crew, hopefully someday, we'll NEVER have to worry about SADS again. Call 547-3355 for questions or go to their Facebook page. Help kids today with Devon's Beat!

Runningly yours,
Behka