In 2013, Chris Yocum, A Big Spring student, went into cardiac arrest during gym class. Immediately, the teacher called the nurse. Pads were placed on him and the AED read his pulse and gave a “shock advised” sign, so his heart was shocked back into a regular pulse or beat. He didn’t wake up right away, but he started breathing on his own, so teachers and nurse, Carol Madden, knew he was alive. After this terrifying event, the Nicolas Over Foundation donated 2 more AEDs to our schools as a gift. To replace these AEDs, the school would have to buy 1 at a time, to the tune of $1,500 per unit. Madden said, “They are an amazing thing to have but it’s time to get them replaced.” Madden has been at our high school for over 20 years and has only used an AED one time. That’s a record the students and staff at Big Spring would like to keep. 

AED’s are Automated External Defibrillators and they are used to save someone from a cardiac arrest. AEDs have pads that detect a pulse and tells whether to shock the person in need of help or not to. If it says “shock advised” then that means it will shock the heart into a regular beat. On April 18, 2002, Big Spring bought 6 units at half price. The state paid for half and Big Spring paid the other half. These AEDs are located in all buildings from the high school to the elementary schools. In the high school these AEDs can be found outside the nurse’s office, in the commons near the gym, and in the pool area.

To raise awareness, Big Spring’s Dawg Pound is hosting the first annual Hoops for Hearts tournament. Senora Oldham, Senora Anderson and Dawg Pound are running this event. Oldham said, “We are hoping for a good turn out and want everyone to have fun.” Sign ups are pushed back to this week, Jan. 11-15. Teams are three to four people. the price is $10 per person in the tournament and $5 per person for side games. Some members of Dawg Pound said “The prices are good. They aren’t too expensive and it’s for a good cause.” All winners get free smoothies, and free Hershey Bears ticket for anyone who participates. Also there will be prizes for top three teams to finish in the tournament. The money will go all to the American Heart Association.