A MESSAGE FROM Patrick Kellachan's NYC Marathon Fundraising Page
*Update: Thank you for the success of this campaign. In just a few weeks, we have reached our goal. In an effort to expand our efforts to do more to raise awareness, we are raising the goal amount. Thank you for your support.
I am running the NYC marathon for multiple reasons:
- To raise funds to implement additional AED’s and training for coaches and teachers at Chaminade High School.
- To raise awareness that AED’s are proven life savers.
- To honor the men and the school that sprung into action on that early December evening and saved PJ’s life.
One night in early December 2022, I received a phone call that no parent ever wants to hear: “PJ has been stabilized and is breathing with the assistance of a respirator.”
I was in New York City at a client event and those words will forever be cemented in my brain. My son PJ, who at the time was a senior at Chaminade High School, was at basketball practice. If Coach Feeney had said pretty much anything else I would not have been surprised. PJ suffered a cardiac arrest. He stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. For an agonizing 10 minutes, 2 coaches, 1 athletic trainer, and 14 teammates did what they had to do to save PJ’s life. All of those efforts would have been futile if there was not an AED machine located in the gym. The coaching staff and athletic trainer immediately recognized the dire situation and went to work.
AED’s are required in all New York state schools. They are to be prominently displayed and easily accessible. As it pertains to PJ, the AED machine was a mere 50 feet away from where he laid. The coaching staff and trainers were all certified and knew what to do. After multiple cycles of administering the AED to PJ, they finally detected a pulse. These men, this school, literally saved his life and as a parent I am forever in their debt.
PJ from all accounts made a miraculous recovery. 12 hours removed from lying lifeless on the court, he had a phone conversation with his coach where he asked him: “Will this affect my spot in the rotation?”. He finally made it back to the court in mid-January and helped his team to the New York State Catholic School semi-finals and will be playing college basketball once he heals of from his ACL surgery!
AED’s are a proven life saver and I have heard countless stories of other young athletes who had a similar experience as PJ where the outcome was not optimal.
Please take a look at ABC 7's news video on the life saving moment: https://abc7ny.com/cardiac-arrest-chaminade-high-school-basketball-player-collapses-cpr/12551477/
I am running the NYC marathon for multiple reasons:
- To raise funds to implement additional AED’s and training for coaches and teachers at Chaminade High School.
- To raise awareness that AED’s are proven life savers.
- To honor the men and the school that sprung into action on that early December evening and saved PJ’s life.
Your support is vital and your gift helps make a difference in the lives of Chaminade students!
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