HOUSTON—A Houston teen’s mother has no doubt her daughter would have grown up to do great things, but Renee Suchowiecky and her family have to do them for her.
"She would say, ‘Keep going mom, this is good,’" said Suchowiecky.
It has to be this way because of what played out on a high school lacrosse field nearly 12 years ago.
Nicole Suchowiecky was a freshman at Episcopal High School. Her mom was in the stands as she practiced for a lacrosse game.
"One of her friends ran up to me and said, ‘Mrs. Suchowiecky, come quick, Nicole has fainted,’" Suchowiecky recalled.
Nicole never woke up. She died from what’s believed to be sudden cardiac arrest. The disease affects about 100,000 students ever year. Less than 10 percent survive.
"She was a good athlete. No one ever came to me and said, ‘Oh, you better check her out,’" she said.
Nicole’s story made national headlines, but it’s because of what happened after her death. Her family set out on a mission and established the Nicole Catharine Suchowiecky Foundation.
Automated External Defibrillators, a device that may have saved Nicole’s life, weren’t in schools when she died. Her family helped to change that.
Now, they’re doing something else through what’s known as the Houston Early Age Risk Testing & Screening Study or HEARTS.
The Suchowieckys, along with Memorial Hermann, the University of Texas of Texas Medical Center at Houston and many others, are pushing to screen all middle school students for heart problems.
They tested the idea at Key Middle School in Houston last year. Out of 94 sixth graders, seven had cardiac abnormalities and two of them needed surgery.
"Give me five years, and hopefully in 2015 there will be sixth-graders throughout Houston will be screened and then we can move statewide and then nationally," said Suchowiecky.
On Sunday, March 7, the Suchowiecky will be presented with Hadassah’s "Women of Courage" honor. Hadassah is one of the largest women’s organizations in the U.S.
"I think it says that the work of Nicole’s foundation is valuable and important and that we need to proceed," she said.
Suchowiecky says her work is far from over. Through Nicole’s story, she wants to continue to make sure other families don’t experience a similar one.
