I Went to Washington, D.C. Last Week
My name is Spencer Davis. I’m a junior at Hollidaysburg High School. Last week, my dad and I joined other Heart Powered advocates from Pennsylvania to meet with Senator John Fetterman and other federal lawmakers in Washington, D.C. In September of 2024, I took a hit during football practice. It was perfectly normal; something that happens hundreds of times if you’re playing football. This time wasn’t normal. After the hit, I went down. My heart had stopped; I had a cardiac arrest.
Up to 23,000 kids suffer a cardiac arrest each year in the U.S.- that’s around 60 every single day. Only 10% of people survive a cardiac arrest. If someone nearby can start CPR, and use an available automated external defibrillator (AED), it can double or triple the chances of someone surviving a cardiac arrest. I was lucky. My school had a plan for this kind of emergency, my coaches knew to start CPR and the school had an AED.
Not every school has staff that knows what to do, and not every school has a working AED. Mine did, but not every student athlete is as lucky as I was. We can change that. Last year, Congress unanimously passed the HEARTS Act, which would help more schools have access to the same resources my school did. When I was in Washington, D.C., I asked federal lawmakers to fund this program to help more kids have the same outcome that I had.
