In memory of David Turner Jr., the David's Drive 831 charity recently purchased an automated external defibrillator (AED), an emergency life-saving device for use in the event of sudden cardiac arrest, and placed it at Triple Fresh Market in Coatesville, where David was once employed.
The charity was founded in honor of David, who died of a suspected heart arrhythmia at the age of 20 on Dec. 16, 2009, while working at the Coatesville Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.
"Samantha (David's sister) was instrumental in making (the AED donation) happen ... and we are proud ... that she made it all about stopping this from happening to other families," stated David Turner Sr., founder and president of David's Drive 831. "If this was available to David when it first happened, (there might have been a different outcome). Sam wanted to provide another family with a second chance."
Turner said that placing AEDs in the community can dramatically reduce the time from collapse to defibrillation and can greatly improve survival rates. "Our hope is that it will never be needed, but in the event it is, our hope is that it will save a family the agony of losing a family member due to a cardiac event," he said.
According to http://www.aed.com, an AED is a portable device that analyzes the heart rhythm and administers an electrical charge to the heart if needed to establish a regular heartbeat in the event of cardiac arrest. When switched on, the AED will instruct the user to connect the pads to a patient's bare chest. The pads enable the AED to examine the patient's heart and determine if the patient is in a viable, shockable rhythm. If the device determines that a shock is required, it will charge in preparation to deliver a shock. The AED is very safe as it will only charge if it determines a shockable rhythm is present.
"(The AED at Triple Fresh) is registered with Chester County and the PulsePoint App. (First responders with the app) will get an alert on their phone, and it will tell them where the closest AED is in the area," Turner explained, noting that since the AED is portable it can be used outside the store building. "It's not just for Triple Fresh customers and employees. It's for the community. People can follow the instructions, use the machine and help the person before the ambulance even gets there. It's very high-tech, but supposedly simple to use."
Purchasing the AED is David Drive's most recent effort in the community. Recently, the charity continued its annual Memorial Day tradition by delivering donated items, including socks, T-shirts and underwear, to the Coatesville VA Medical Center. The donations were collected during the 10th annual David's Drive picnic and collection event held on May 19 at the Turner family home in Coatesville.
On Memorial Day, volunteers met at East Fallowfield Park, where last-minute donations of underwear, socks and T-shirts were collected before a caravan of vehicles departed for the VA Medical Center. The group was escorted by members of local fire companies and motorcycle riders. Upon arrival, the volunteers formed a human assembly line to unload all the bags of donations.
"On Memorial Day, $100,000 worth of underwear was delivered to the Coatesville VA, bringing David Drive's 10-year total to a half a million dollars' worth of underwear donated to homeless and hospitalized veterans," Turner reported.
For more information about David's Drive, readers may email davidsdrive@verizon.net or visit http://www.davidsdrive831.org or http://www.facebook.com/davids.drive.
Leave a Review