By BETSY BETHEL

Arts & Living Associate Editor

Wheeling, WV - Mary Velez of Wheeling doesn’t want anyone to endure what she did after her son, Matt, went into cardiac arrest during a high school physical education class and died six days later.

Velez believes use of an automated external defibrillator in the crucial minutes before paramedics arrived would have saved Matt’s life. According to the American Heart Association, more than 200,000 Americans die of sudden cardiac arrest every year, but up to 50,000 of the deaths could have been prevented if someone had taken the appropriate steps and an automated external defibrillator had been available on the spot.

In the five and one-half years since her son’s death, Velez has raised $100,000 and purchased or helped to place 80 AEDs in local schools and other public places in the Northern Panhandle through her Matt Velez Save a Life Foundation. She is responsible for the placement of even more AEDs as a result of businesses, schools and groups responding to her awareness campaign.

Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center in Wheeling is the latest local agency to receive an AED through the Velez Foundation. Velez and representatives from AED maker Cardiac Science and AED advocacy group Parent Heart Watch presented the device to Lori Untch, Easter Seals chief executive officer, on Tuesday, July 10.

Velez’s mission is not unique. She and dozens of parents like her are members of Parent Heart Watch throughout the United States .

“Our goal basically in Parent Heart Watch is to make sure there is an AED in every school in this country and every public place where people gather,” said Rachel Moyer, co-founder and board president. “If your child’s school has a computer, it should have an AED. Computers don’t save lives; AEDs do.”

Cardiac Science, based in Seattle , is donating AEDs to all Parent Heart Watch members, who then may choose recipients in their communities. One other Parent Heart Watch member in West Virginia , Debbie Burch of Winfield, already received and donated her AED from Cardiac Science.

Velez said Martha Hon, chief development officer at Easter Seals, recently had expressed interest in the facility having an AED if Velez could find a sponsor.

“It’s just such a blessing to be able to offer it,” said Lorie Untch, Easter Seals chief executive officer, of the AED, which will be located centrally at the facility’s reception desk.

“We want the public to know that we have it and that our plan is to have all 40 of our staff members trained. It won’t be placed into service until that training is completed,” she said.

Tony Campbell of the Wheeling Fire Department conducts free AED trainings for Velez’s AED recipients, Velez said.

An automated external defibrillator is about the size of a laptop computer. It works by analyzing “the heart’s rhythm for any abnormalities and, if necessary, directs the rescuer to deliver an electrical shock to the victim. This shock, called defibrillation, may help the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm of its own,” according to the American Heart Association.

Lorie Untch, left, chief executive officer of Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center in Wheeling, receives a new automated external defibrillator. Once the staff is trained, the AED will be placed at the front reception desk to be used in case of a cardiac emergency. Presenting the AED are, to Untch’s left, Sue Adams of Cardiac Science, which supplied the AED; Mary Velez of the Matt Velez Save a Life Foundation, who donated the AED to Easter Seals; and Rachel Moyer, co-founder of Parent Heart Watch, of which Velez is a member.

Photo by Betsy Bethel