It has been three years since Sandy Canfield's oldest daughter died of a sudden heart attack before a sports practice at Robinson Secondary School.
While she will never forget her young Danica, Canfield and her husband Jeff are moving forward with a movement that would help prevent similar deaths from occurring in Fairfax County schools.
"We thought it's time to jump in because we don't want to have another tragedy happen when we can make some changes,'" said Canfield, a former medical assistant in a cardiologist's office, who lives in Burke Centre.
For one year, Canfield has been leading a charge to have automated external defibrillators (AED) installed in every Fairfax County school. She believes that having the machines, which can jump-start a dying heart in seconds, is a vital need for anywhere people are active, especially at schools.
"You don't have to have symptoms to go into cardiac arrest," said Canfield. "It could be dehydration, getting hit in the chest with a ball, a puck or anything."
In the case of her daughter, it was an undiagnosed condition known as arrythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), which meant the muscles in her daughter's right ventricle began to turn to fatty tissue. When Danica tripped and fell during practice, the jolt sent her heart into an afibrillation. Paramedics were called but did not arrive until 20 minutes had passed. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was performed, but, according to Canfield, that wasn't enough.
"If your heart has stopped, the only thing that's going to bring it back is an electric shock from a defibrillator," she said.
So Sandy Canfield has slowly become a self-proclaimed "AED poster person." She carries one with her everywhere and made sure her other two daughters, ages 13 and 15, are both able to use the machines.
THE AED MACHINE, which is carried in a portable case, is roughly the size of a laptop computer. In the case are electrodes to be placed on the heart attack victim's chest to sense the presence of an arrhythmia, an abnormal beating of the heart.
What makes the AED different from the defibrillators seen on television shows like "ER" is the fact that the AED is fully automated. Once it senses a heart irregularity, the machine will deliver a series of electric shocks, increasing in power, to jump-start the heart muscle as it dies from loss of blood. Canfield said one of the common questions she receives about getting the devices into schools is the risk of students' using them for improper purposes.
"If your heart doesn't need to be shocked, it won't deploy a shock," she said. "Children can't take this off the wall and shock people."
According to the Harvard Family Medical Guide, approximately 20 percent of the 250,000 deaths from cardiac arrest each year occur in public.
Already, organizations such as Virginia Railway Express are carrying AED devices on their trains. Airports, casinos and even police squad cars are among the locales nationwide with AED devices.
"I think because of the technology, they're becoming very easy to use, and because the price is coming down, I think they will become standard equipment to be installed in public places, not unlike fire extinguishers," said Supervisor Sharon Bulova (D-Braddock), a member of the VRE Operations Board, which voted to install AED devices on all VRE trains in January 2000.
Bulova put forth a Board of Supervisors matter in September 2003 recommending Fairfax County staff work with Fairfax County schools to come up with a policy on AEDs before the 2006 budget recommendation is released later this month. She also hosted a workshop for AED and CPR certification for members of her staff, as well as members of Braddock District community associations, staff from the Kings Park Library and a member of Board of Supervisors chairman Gerry Connelly (D-At large).
IN EARLY 2004, Canfield began contacting the Fairfax County School Board to see what could be done to purchase an AED for each school. When Board members dragged their feet, she and her husband paid $2,000 apiece for two systems, one for Robinson Secondary and the other for Fairview Elementary, which her children attended. The devices were delivered in the fall of 2004.
"It’s reassuring to have them here," said Robinson principal Dan Meier. "With 4,300 students, we could actually use a few more." Robinson, which has two AEDs on campus, is the only secondary school in Fairfax County with the devices.
"I don't think the parents in Fairfax County are aware that there's a $2,000 piece of equipment that could save their child's life down the line," Canfield said. "They either assume it's there, or that CPR is good enough, or an ambulance can get there in time."
Through School Board member Tessie Wilson (Braddock), Canfield was directed to state Del. J. Chapman Petersen (D-37th). Over breakfast, Canfield shared the story of her daughter's death.
"I heard her story, and it seemed to me the question was having a state standard whereby we would have defibrillators in every school," said Petersen.
Petersen offered a state budget amendment that would provide $1,000 for each high school with competitive athletics toward the purchase of an AED for the school.
Also in the current General Assembly session, Del. William Fralin (R-17th) of Roanoke offered HB 2299, which would require each school with competitive athletics to have an AED, along with requiring certification by at least two staff members in every school with an AED.
"These types of incidents are preventable if you have the proper equipment, and the equipment is increasingly easy to purchase, and the training is not terribly difficult," said Petersen. "If you've got the defibrillator on site and you react quickly, that person could be revived. If you don't have that $1,000 defibrillator, they've got no chance."
Meier said he supports the legislation and realizes the benefits it would have for schools.
"I think the priority of every principal is to make every school as safe and secure as possible, and I think if this is a measure that can help that effort, then I’m all for it," said Meier.
Among the roadblocks Canfield has encountered so far is opposition to AEDs in schools related to the liability risks involved. Under Virginia's "Good Samaritan" law, however, schools cannot be held responsible for the device failing to save a life, or for those who aren't trained using the device.
It couldn't be easier to use, said Canfield.
"You turn it on, and it tells you what to do very clearly."
Canfield said she is involved in organizing the National Parent Cardiac Coalition, a group that would link concerned parents nationwide. She considers the legislation is a good start but said she won't stop until every school in Fairfax County has several AED devices on campus.
"It would be a fairly large amount of money, but I would pay it out of pocket to have my daughter back. It's a question of where your priorities lie."