SADS Awareness Month--September
SADS volunteers around the country are needed to help make
communities aware of SADS. Join us to make our goals a reality this
year!
Our Goals Are:
-
proclamations naming Sept. as SADS Awareness Month in every
state
-
stories in national and local media (TV, radio, newspapers)
about SADS--your personal story
-
posters & SADS information in schools around the country
How Can I Help?
Quick Links...
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| Dear Alice,
As you're taking your summer vacations and relaxing
before the start of the busy fall season, we at SADS want to
let you know about our plans for the rest of the year.
The annual SADS Awareness Month looks to be the best ever!
Our Intern, Stephanie, has some great new ideas to help all of
you--our great SADS Volunteers--make your community more aware
of the warning signs of SADS and help save lives.
SADS Awareness Month is an annual effort to increase the
public's awareness of these potentially fatal arrhythmias.
Awareness month provides an invaluable opportunity to unify us
as an organization, promote awareness nationwide, aid in
healing and save lives.
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| Proclamations for SADS Awareness Month
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Official designation of SADS Awareness Month
makes sudden death in the young a publically
recognized--and important--issue.
Please contact your representative(s)--state, county
& city--to urge them to proclaim September SADS
Awareness Month. Our goal is to have official
designations in every state this year! Contact contact
Stephanie or
visit www.sads.org/awareness
for a sample
proclamation and tips for success.
Media for SADS Awareness Month
Telling your story to the media for SADS Awareness
Month lets parents know the warning signs to protect
their children. You are also educating teachers,
physicians, nurses, etc.--people who care for children
every day.
If you would like information on working with local
media or special media kits to give to reporters, please
contact Stephanie or visit
www
.sads.org/aware/06home.htm
To help us coordinate efforts,
please let us know before you contact the
media.
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| Congratulations Michaela!! |
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Six years after the diagnosis of
Long QT Syndrome that changed her life, Michaela Gagne
was crowned Miss Massachusetts. Michaela was a senior in
high school, captain of the soccer, basketball and track
teams (she still holds school records) when a routine
checkup reveled LQTS. After receiving an ICD and not
being able to compete in any of her former sports,
Michaela took her guidance counselor’s advice and tried
out for the Miss Fall River Pageant.
Her success in this new competitive endeavor will,
she hopes, ultimately benefit everyone: “I am doing
everything in my power to get information out to the
public about Sudden Arrhythmia Heart Syndromes”, she
says. We are very excited about this and wish Michaela
all the best as Miss Massachusetts.
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| Exercise Recommendations for Long QT Syndrome
& Other SADS Conditions |
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Every year, the American College of Cardiology
convenes a meeting in Bethesda, Maryland to address an
important issue in cardiology. In November 2004, the
36th Bethesda Conference gathered international
cardiology experts to address exercise recommendations
for competitive athletes with various heart conditions.
We have excerpted the section on LQTS at www.sads.org.
You can read the full text--which contains sections
on screening, use of AEDs, and other cardiac conditions
like Brugada syndrome, CPVT, HCM, etc.--at
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| AEDs in Schools |
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Thanks to mom Julie Beam, her school district is one
of the first in Colorado willing to implement an AED
program. She donated the 1st machine and then pushed her
school to develop a plan to train, update and use AEDs.
This plan was adopted by the whole district so all
schools can participate in this program. So far, she has
raised money for seven schools and is working on the
remaining six in the district.
Good work, Julie!
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