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Grace's Story
Gracie Firestone, Tower Hill 2011, Survivor of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Grace Firestone, Tower Hill School, 2011, was selected as a 2012 recipient of the “National High School Spirit of Sport Award” by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The National High School Spirit of Sport Award was created to recognize those individuals who exemplify the ideals of the spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics. Grace - one of eight recipients from across the country - was the winner of Section 2, which includes DE, Washington D.C, KY, MD, Ohio, PA, VA and WVA. Additionally, in November of 2012, she was honored with the Youth in Philanthropy Award by the Brandywine Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. An elite high school athlete, Grace earned 15 varsity letters and garnered All-state honors in all of her three sports, including 1st Team All State soccer for 3 years. She was a 6-time sports captain and maintained a 3.93 GPA. She was student body president her senior year. She created a number of community service projects while in high school, including “Let the Kids Play,” which later would raise thousands of dollars for her adopted orphanage in Kenya.
On June 6, 2011, just two days after graduating from Tower Hill, Grace went to her mother’s room to say that she wasn’t feeling well. Seconds later she collapsed on the bed. Her heart stopped. Her mother immediately called 911. Her brother Grant administered CPR during the three minutes before the New Castle County (DE) EMS arrived. NCC Policeman Officer Justison was first on the scene, directing the incoming emergency personnel. (Officer Justison was later to visit Gracie in the hospital several times. The EMS team visited as well.)
Grace was paddled 6 times. The EMS team drilled into her shin (interosseous) to provide quicker IV access to the brain. Her heart stopped three times that night. On the way to Christiana Hospital she stopped breathing.
An hour later, in an ER room, a doctor gets on his knee in front of Gracie's family. "There's a good chance we will lose her". Gracie was put on a ventilator and an induced coma.
Ten days later Grace left Christiana with an implanted defibrillator (ICD). No permanent damage. She began walking and working out. She entered U of Delaware Honors in September 2011. The doctor who implanted the defib/pacemaker warned again engaging in contact sports. But these were the sports in which she thrived in high school. Gracie decided to live her own life.
After a few months of physical and cognitive rehabilitation, she felt more than ever that she needed to help others. “Once I realized I was OK, I was frustrated with people telling me I wasn’t OK,” she says. “That gave me the inspiration to do something drastic to show I was physically and mentally able.”
With the aid of US Sen Chris Coons and wife Annie, Grace created a fund raiser collecting $8,000.00 which eventually went to her adopted orphanage in Kenya. On Christmas Day 2012, Gracie left for Africa. She climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. While in Africa, Grace visited the orphanage and played soccer with the kids.
At U of Delaware, she has played center mid position for UD Club Soccer. The team went to the national club soccer finals all 4 years.
Through the efforts of Gracie, State Sens. Cathy Cloutier, Bethany Hall-Long and Kevin Charles of the DIAA (DE Interscholastic Athletic Assoc.), the Grace Firestone SCA Awareness Act was passed in 2014.
Dr. Grace Firestone is a resident in family care at Stanford Medical Center - O'Connor Hospital in CA Stanford - O'Connor Family Medicine Residency. Dr. Firestone graduated from the Sydney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
Grace Firestone Act
The Important Legislation Surrounded by student athletes from Middletown High School on the first day of school, Governor Markell signed legislation that requires the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (“DIAA”) to draft regulations to identify symptoms and risk factors of sudden cardiac arrest in student athletes. The legislation aims to better identify at-risk students who participate in youth sports and raise awareness among coaches and administrators. Senate Bill 205, which notes that Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the number one cause of death of student athletes while participating in practices and games, also helps ensure schools are better prepared to respond quickly and effectively should an incident occur. "Youth and high school athletics offer a phenomenal opportunity for students to learn life skills -- good sportsmanship, teamwork, overcoming adversity -- while also providing them with regular exercise that promotes their physical health and well-being,” said Governor Markell. “We must take responsibility for doing everything we can to promote the health and safety of these athletes and Senate Bill 205 recognizes that we have the ability to greatly diminish the threat of sudden cardiac arrest. Today marks important progress in ensuring Delaware schools are better equipped to prevent and respond to this frightening condition."
As a result of this law, the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association will develop rules for schools to deal with awareness, recognition, and management of sudden cardiac arrest in student-athletes. At a minimum, each school must give coaches and officials information on sudden cardiac arrest, including warning signs.
In addition, students and their families will need to sign a sudden cardiac arrest information sheet; athletes will answer questions about heart history before they participate; and schools will ensure all head coaches undergo CPR certification that includes training on the use of an automated external defibrillator.
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Bill sponsor Sen. Bethany Hall-Long, D-Middletown, said the law reinforces actions already being taken by the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association. Hall-Long, who authored a law requiring screenings for athletes who may have suffered a concussion, has been on the forefront of protecting the health of young athletes.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of health advocacy groups and of Grace and the Firestone family, we’re here to provide new protection for young athletes,” Hall-Long said “With the training and information this law requires, we’re going to give young athletes a better chance of surviving, if they should suffer a sudden, unexpected cardiac incident while they’re on the field.”
Our Impact
“Today, Delaware joined the increasingly pertinent nation-wide movement to provide high-school coaches, parents, and students with lifesaving CPR information,” Firestone said. “Because of persistent legislators and organizations dedicated to raising SCA awareness, Delaware is working to shift the balance to make SCA survival less of a far-reaching miracle and more of a prevailing standard. I will continue to live in gratitude for those family members, policemen, and EMT's who never gave up on my life, and promise to forever work with passion, heart, and purpose to pay that commitment forward.”
She attends the University of Delaware and has started a charity to provide athletic equipment to disadvantaged children. At the bill signing, Markell said her story "reminds us why we’re here and it helps inspire us to see that we can do more to protect our kids."
At the signing of The Grace Firestone Act is the 9th such bill in the nation. As of November of 2105 there were ONLY NINE states with similar legislation. THAT IS RIDICULOUS.For those from other states who would wish information for your legislators, please connect with me! This is a wonderfully collaborative bill, molded by all the statewide stakeholders AND budget neutral.
Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, co-sponsored the measure, which he hopes will protect young athletes.
“It’s shocking to think that these sudden, unexpected heart attacks are the No. 1 killer of young athletes, but that’s the case,” Townsend said. “We know that, in some cases, quick reaction can save the lives of these young people which is why I supported the training this law will require.”
Added Sen. Cathy Cloutier, R-Heatherbrooke, “As a member of the General Assembly, it is my responsibility to work on and promote legislation that will serve the people of Delaware, including student athletes. I am honored to have had the opportunity to play a role in SB 205. Because of this bill that’s being signed today, young lives in our state will be saved.”
Rep. Mike Ramone, R-Pike Creek South, also a co-sponsor of the bill, stated, “As a person who has dedicated his entire adult life to running health and fitness clubs and sports programs for our young athletes, I am very proud to have helped champion this important legislation. I believe that we are making a life-saving commitment to our student athletes and their families by enacting this bill.”
SB 205 is known as the Grace Firestone Act, named for a former three-sport star at Tower Hill, who also excelled in the classroom, exemplifying the value that athletics can have as part of the educational experience. Now Grace, who attended the bill signing, is one of the rare survivors of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, having collapsed in her home two days after her high school graduation.
Greer Firestone Biography
A phone call at midnight. "Grace had a heart attack". NO! That could not happen to an elite athlete. There was no family heart history. We soon learned that Grace suffered not a heart attack but Sudden Cardiac Arrest. What was that? SCA is entirely different. If one is not given CPR/AED within 5 minutes....yes, 5 minutes, the patient either succumbs or suffers cognitive issues and will never be the same. We did research. We gathered all the stakeholders in Delaware and created The Grace Firestone Act for Sudden Cardiac Awareness, mandated in 2014. However, that was not enough. We founded Heart In The Game.org that same year to give Delaware students EKG screenings and to train in CPR/AED. A pre-participation physical for sports identifies 8% of heart abnormalities. Family history identifies 20%. A simple, 5 minute, non-invasive EKG identifies 90%. Yes, an EKG can save one life. Knowledge of CPR/AED can save tens of lives. Parents think their otherwise healthy looking kids are invulnerable. The Firestone family certainly thought Grace was invulnerable. You never know. Why take the chance?
- Greer Firestone
