Simon Sudman was born on October 21, 2004. He was the second child of Phyllis and Darren Sudman. His sister, Sally, was two.
Simon was a seemingly healthy baby boy. He weighed almost seven pounds and had APGAR (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity & Respiration) scores of eight and nine. He was in the 50th percentile for weight and the 25th for height.
Every few hours, he’d finish a bottle (except for a four-hour stretch overnight). Simon smiled for the first time when he was seven weeks old. He died 47 days later.
At first, his cause of death was believed to be sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), a typical conclusion when a baby dies suddenly and unexpectedly.
What happened next is the reason that Simon’s Heart is here today. Simon’s pediatrician told Phyllis and Darren to have their hearts checked, since unknown causes can be passed from parents to children. They wanted to know if Simon’s death could have been heart-related, and they were worried about Sally.
Phyllis was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome (LQTS), an arrhythmia that can cause fainting and sudden death. This condition has been linked to up to 15% of all SIDS deaths and is one of several conditions that cause sudden cardiac arrest in children
Almost 20 years ago, Darren and Phyllis turned their pain into power by creating Simon’s Heart in hopes that other families don’t have to experience what they did. Their vision was to create a future in which parents and communities don’t lose children to detectable and treatable heart conditions.
What started out as a nonprofit providing free youth heart screenings and advocating to change the standard of care so that all kids get their hearts checked, has grown into an organization having a national footprint and impact. Dedicated to preventing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and death in youth, especially student athletes, they aim to achieve this through free youth heart screenings, advocating at local and national levels, and other initiatives including:
GotAED
A crowdfunding site dedicated to placing AEDs where kids learn and play. Create a campaign to place an AED in your facility, or donate to an ongoing campaign to protect young hearts.
CPR Jukebox
Provides CPR education in a fun and innovative way. You can host the CPR Jukebox at your next event, or sponsor the CPR Jukebox School Year Tour!
To date, Simon’s Heart has checked 19,000+ hearts and identified more than 140 youth needing follow up, placed more than 450 AEDs across the country, educated more than 200,000 community members on CPR and the Chain of Survival, and influenced SCA legislation in 19 states.
To learn more about Simon’s Heart and GotAED visit: