On October 2, 2019, an eighth-grader at Stahl Junior High School in Puyallup, WA sat down for math class and slumped over to the floor. His heart stopped. Luckily, his teacher was a coach and through his certification in CPR he jumped into action. A second adult in the class immediately called the school nurse who quickly arrived with an AED to restart the boy’s heart. The boy was lucky! I know because that was me, Justin Thomas. I was 14 when I went into sudden cardiac arrest from a genetic heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. I now have an internal defibrillator that has saved my life an additional three times in the past two years.

Did you know over 7,000 school-aged children die every year from sudden cardiac arrest?

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in school-age children taking the lives of over 2,000 young, seemingly healthy people under the age of 25 every year. For this reason and my personal story, I am passionate about making sure schools have defibrillators on-site to minimize the time it takes to give someone life-saving treatment. I was very fortunate and had a two-minute response time giving me an 80% chance of survival. For most people, they are given a 10% survival rate with a nine-minute response time. Every minute counts and reduces the chance of survival by 10%.

For my Eagle Scout project, I am working to supply Waskowitz Outdoor School, an environmental education school in the Highline School District in Washington State, with automatic external defibrillators (AEDs). There are currently no defibrillators on-site to protect teachers, staff, and students. With the school having around 372 acres of trails that their students and teachers hike and explore; it is extremely important to have defibrillators as a medical emergency can come out of nowhere when putting the body under stress from physical activity. I am seeking nine defibrillators, first aid kits, and backpacks. Eight of the defibrillators will be placed into backpacks with first aid kits and handed out to teachers when their students go out hiking on the trails. Whether life-saving AED treatment or first aid for a cut or broken bone, it is essential for every teacher to be prepared with an emergency backpack. The remaining AED will be placed in a central building on campus.

How can you protect a life?

I am asking for your support in protecting Waskowitz Outdoor School and its teachers, staff, and students. Whether it is donating a first aid kit, an AED, a red first aid backpack, or by making a financial contribution, anything and everything helps to achieve my goal and will be greatly appreciated. If you would like me to come and present my project to you or your group, I am more than happy to schedule a time to provide additional information. Please contact me if you are interested.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to reaching my goal and ensuring I uphold the BSA motto, Be Prepared.

Justin Thomas