David was a funny guy who could turn any miserable experience into a hilarious story. His death leaves a huge hole in our family and among his friends. Fascinated by all things military since he was a toddler, David finally joined the Marines at age 23. He served with the 1/3 Marines in Hawaii as an assaultman, and he never missed his target.
While on a five-mile training run with his battalion, David's heart went into a bad rhythm and he collapsed. Efforts to resuscitate him failed. David died on November 7, 2013, at age 25. We still don't know exactly what caused his heart to stop. David had never had an electrocardiogram (ECG) that might have revealed some kind of electrical disorder. Even though Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the leading cause of non-traumatic death in military populations, current screening protocols at MEPS do not include an ECG for heart health.
We started the Lion Heart Heroes Foundation to "keep military hearts beating" by advocating for the military to add ECGs to the cardiac screening of recruits, donating Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to military posts, and promoting CPR training in the military. Every military member deserves an ECG and the chance to prevent a life-altering or life-ending event.
