Adam's Story

This is a story about Adam—in many ways your average happy teen.

As he grew up, he easily made friends and could often be found biking around the neighborhood having fun with whoever was around. Adam was the third son of four, and he loved hanging around with his older brothers and teasing his youngest brother. This was okay, though—Adam was someone everyone wanted to be around. He was the glue for his family, who loved their time together spending summers at their lake home and winters taking ski trips. He loved being challenged, and was taking accelerated classes in school.

Adam was a natural athlete. When he was younger, he was always shooting baskets in the driveway. He was also an ace on the tennis court. In fact, if you played him, he might switch hands without telling you to keep the match competitive. When you noticed, he'd smirk. He won state in tennis his freshman year in Wisconsin.

The world was unfolding before him. He was poised to lead the varsity basketball team. He was looking forward to college. In fact, the day he lost his life, he had expressed a dream to attend Duke University to play guard. He didn't know what he wanted to study, but whatever it was he wanted to make a difference - to make the world better.

The event.

When Adam was 17, he suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest during a basketball game and collapsed on the court. A bystander administered CPR, but without a defibrillator (an AED), his heart couldn’t regain its normal rhythm. The ambulance arrived within eight minutes, but Adam needed an AED within 2-3 minutes to be given the best chance of survival. Over 1000 people—members of the community, family, and friends—attended Adam’s funeral. How could this happen to a child in peak athletic condition at the prime of his high school years? In the weeks that followed, Adam’s family learned more about this completely unexpected incident: That Sudden Cardiac Arrest can strike at any time to anyone. That all it would have taken to improve his chances of survival is the right equipment, with people prepared and knowledgeable about using it. Adam always wanted to make a difference in the world—and this was their chance to keep that dream alive.

Project ADAM

Project ADAM was launched to get systems into place in communities across the country to offer the best chance of survival to people who suffer Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Through Project ADAM, schools, sporting programs, and community sites can become Heart Safe, with the equipment and training needed to be prepared and respond during those first critical minutes. Project ADAM has saved lives, and can do so in your community as well.

You likely know an Adam. Picture them—young, vibrant, happy, with their whole life ahead of them. You never would expect Sudden Cardiac Arrest to happen tomorrow. But if it did, we are sure you’d want them to be surrounded by the right equipment and people who know how to spring into action to give them the best possible chance to survive.

This is what Project ADAM is about. While we can’t give Adam his life, we can work to preserve the bright future of others. Interested in joining the cause? Get Project ADAM started in your community. Connect with your local affiliate today to learn more.

Adam Newspaper Clipping