A Thanksgiving Story

November 18, 2011 - There are all kinds of reasons for giving thanks. In this case, it's for someone who had the foresight to act in advance, preventing a tragedy from happening. Alisha Obando, a school nurse in American Falls, Idaho, approached Jenny’s Heroes, a charity started by Jenny Jones to benefit everyday citizens and their communities. She requested $6,000 to buy three automated external defibrillators (AED) for her school, and Jenny’s Heroes provided the funds for the AEDs. In requesting the AEDs, Alisha said, "We hope to never have to use the AED but want to be prepared and able to save the life of a child in case of an emergency."

Fast forward to this past September. 17-year-old Ross Palmer, a player on the American Falls football team, collapsed at practice. The coaching staff started CPR, while another coach ran inside to get the AED that the school had recently received, the same AED that Alisha Obando had purchased. Medical responders agreed that Palmer wouldn’t have been saved without the use of the AED. Ross, who received an implantable cardiac defibrillator following the incident, said, “That little box saved my life.”