Kids will ask lawmakers to be their Valentine Feb. 14th

We’re already eight days into American Heart Month, and I doubt very many people are thinking about their kids’ hearts.
Trish Harrington certainly wasn’t – until her athletic eighth-grade son, Drew, was screened by Simon’s Fund at Radnor High School last September.
(Simons’s Fund is the non-profit set up by Darren and Phyllis Sudman in memory of their son, Simon. He was  born Oct. 21, 2004 with a genetic heart defect, and died 96 days later, when he failed to wake up from a nap.)
Drew’s EKG uncovered a potentially fatal heart condition, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome.
A month later, Drew had a cardiac catheterization at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Today he’s back on the lacrosse field.
Prior to the procedure, Drew was at great risk for sudden cardiac arrest, the leading killer of student athletes; now, his risk is less than 1 in 100,000, said Ezekiel-Fishbein.
Drew’s medical procedure took place on Oct 21, Simon Sudman’s birthday. To date, Simon’s Fund has screened 3,709 children’s hearts; one of every 100 has been found to have a potentially fatal heart anomaly, Ezekiel-Fishbein said.
“In honor of American Heart Month, we’re focusing extra attention on our mission, and asking for help raising awareness that heart health isn’t just or adults,” she said.
On Valentine’s Day, a group of children whose life-threatening heart conditions were discovered at screenings will visit Harrisburg to deliver cookies and valentines to State Rep. Mike Vereb and members of the Senate’s Education Committee.
The bill written by Vereb is sitting in the Education Committee, and the children hope their visit will help spur its passage.
“Our message? Passing this bill is the best Valentine you could give the Commonwealth’s children. (And getting your child a heart screening is a great Valentine for any child!),” Ezekiel-Fishbein said.