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Living4Zachary: Friends, family fight to prevent SCA
Photo Credit: Cody Berkeley
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Written by Ashley Taylor, Staff Writer
Turning last year’s tragedy into an inspiration, Living4Zachary works towards saving hundreds of young lives across America. Founded by a small group of mothers, including Karen Schrah and Rhonda Cochran, Living4Zachary came about with the hope and intention of preventing and bringing awareness to Sudden Cardiac Arrest in student athletes and other young adults.
Hardly a student or parent in PISD fails to remember Zachary Schrah, the Clark sophomore who passed away unexpectedly during the spring of 2009. Family, friends, teachers and teammates loved Zachary, an active member of the football team on campus. Zachary’s life was taken due to SCA, a condition that shows little or no symptoms and that sports physical exams do not test. Students and parents created Living4Zachary in an attempt to reduce the lives lost to SCA.
Andrew Cochran, one of Zachary’s best friends helps run the teen division of Living4Zachary, Zac’s Team. Members of Zac’s Team, such as Andrew and Zac’s sister Sarah, help raise awareness among their peers and meet monthly to discuss more ways to let people know about their cause.
“We started Living4Zachary in memory of Zac, and basically it’s to raise awareness for Sudden Cardiac Arrest in youth,” Cochran said. “We’re trying to get a law passed to where when you go in to get a physical you have to get an EKG, which checks your heart. Hopefully by this we can save a lot more lives in youth.”
An EKG detects 99% of heart problems. Through making EKG inspections a requirement, Living4Zachary hopes to catch more symptoms of SCA before it’s too late. The organization’s success serves as motivation for the members of Living4Zachary to keep persevering and working toward gaining awareness for the prevention of SCA.
“So far we’ve been to the mall and we have been talking to customers during tax free weekend and we’ve been selling a lot of bracelets,” senior Yasmina Chalhoub said. “Almost everyone at Plano East has one and if they don’t then they should, and all the money goes directly to the charity and to help athletes that need to get their heart checked.”
The morning of homecoming, Living4Zachary will host a 5K run and walk in order to raise funds and awareness to help prevent SCA in youth. The fundraiser allows individuals of all ages to take part in Living4Zachary.
“Anyone can participate, they just have to go to the website www.living4zachary.org and there’s going to be activities, booths, things to buy and food,” Chalhoub said. “It’s a way to go out there and exercise and do it for charity.”
Zachary’s friends and family continue to work hard for this cause. In order to help people understand the devastating affects SCA can create and the desperate need to prevent it, members of Living4Zachary attempt to educate the public. Getting involved in Living4Zachary benefits the organization in helping towards its goal and those that volunteer. The organization further educates students on this life-threatening condition that if detected, remains relatively easy to eliminate. Living4Zachary not only helps prevent deaths from SCA in the future, but also allows Zachary’s friends and family to continue acting on Zac’s behalf.
“Just raising awareness about it will help prevent other people around America, and hopefully, eventually throughout the world to not have to go through what we had to go through,” Chalhoub said.
Regardless of the time and effort it takes, the members of Living4Zachary continue to persevere in an attempt to let Zachary’s memory live on through saving the lives of others.
“You’re always going to feel the same way about Zac,” Chow said. “But it makes it feel a little bit better helping other people.”
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