Julias Heart Foundation

On February 24th 2005, Julia collapsed on the playground at school while playing with her friends.
At 5 years old she was in cardiac arrest. Although CPR began immediately followed by the use of a defibrillator when paramedics arrived, Julia’s heart never started again.
We had lost our precious little girl. As the shock settled in the questions grew.

How could this happen? She was not sick.
She showed no signs of having any abnormal heart condition or disease.
This is not normal. This just does not happen. We were wrong.
In the days following, friends and family were recalling similar tragedies to young adults and children they had either heard or read about or new personally. I remembered reading about a young girl in my community who also collapsed and died during a cross country meet a little over a year before.

Yes, this kind of thing was happening, only this time it had happened to Julia.
It is my hope that Julia’s Gardens Heart Foundation will help to educate friends,
family and communities everywhere about the reality and imminent possibility of Sudden Cardiac Death.
I believe that with information we can arm ourselves with the knowledge and programs
to make a difference. I did not have this information when I needed it to help my daughter.
If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, make sure you do.

Jill Frisk