Will The Next Heartbeat Be Your Last ?
He steals the ball, gets on a fast break and makes the go ahead layup! The home crowd is cheering! But wait everything goes quiet out of nowhere. You ask yourself why did the crowd that was so hyped about five seconds ago is so quiet. It’s because they just witnessed the player collapse on the floor. No one knows why he collapsed. He gets medical attention and is rushed to the hospital where news gets out that the player has just been pronounced dead. This right here is a scenario of someone suffering from sudden cardiac arrest. It’s a very terrible occurrence and it can happen to anyone at any given moment.
During the summer about four years ago I was an eighth grade student who was going to enter high school. One of my passions is the sport of basketball and I knew I wanted to play on the freshman basketball team of the high school I was going to. In order to try out for the basketball team I had to attend a summer basketball camp so that the coach could get familiar with the players and their playing styles before tryouts. During the summer camp I saw a guy pass by and talk to the people in charge of camp and to some of the school faculty. I ask people who he was and I heard he is an alumni of the high school who was greatly known in the school for his basketball skills and his off the court personality. He was on his way to play college basketball. The camp ended and school began. A month after school began the school found out that Dominic Murray the alumni has passed away from sudden cardiac arrest while practicing in his school’s basketball court. Although I did not know him on a personal level I did know who he was and so when I found out he passed away I was in shock. He was only eighteen. He was so young and had a bright future ahead of him. I felt weird in a way when I found out he passed away. I thought to myself I just saw him a couple weeks ago and now he’s dead, how can that be? All of the school community mourned his death greatly because everyone knew who he was and he was such a big part of the school community. This is why I chose to do my digital justice project on sudden cardiac arrest. |
Sudden cardiac arrest is a very serious issue that can affect anyone as said before and according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2001), “Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating.” People have the tendency of think that SCA is the same as a heart attack. During a heart attack the heart usually doesn’t stop beating. A heart attack occurs when blood flow to part of the heart muscle is blocked.
Sudden cardiac arrest each an everyday is becoming a bigger healthcare crisis. According to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation (2014), “The number of people who die each year from SCA is roughly equivalent to the number who die from Alzheimer’s disease, assault with firearms, breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, HIV, house fires, motor vehicle accidents, prostate cancer and suicides combined.” |
Advocacy For Promoting Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness
DOM 21 FoundationThe Dominic A. Murray 21 website is a rhetorical space intended to reach out to people who want to get informed with the issue of sudden cardiac arrest. The website is intended to reach out to parents who want to make sure that sudden cardiac arrest does not impact their children. The website has tons of information from what the Dominican A. Murray 21 Foundation does like hosting events to promote awareness. The use of the color red is to represent life and the heart. The website is credible because it has a photo gallery in which you can see the events hosted by the foundation. The foundation is also credible because it is certified by the New York Department of State.
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Facebook PageThe Dominic A. Murray 21 Facebook page is similar to the website. The Facebook page is place where you can be more up to date with what is going on with the foundation. The Facebook page is designed to connect with a young teenage audience and make them aware of the issue of sudden cardiac arrest. The Facebook is credible because it has over two thousand likes. The page connects to people because of all the posts and pictures that show people working together to promote awareness.
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Twitter Page The twitter page ran by the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association unites people who have survived from Sudden Cardiac Arrest. The twitter page has close to three thousand followers. The twitter page is designed to attract a middle aged audience because it gives news on people who have suffered from sudden cardiac arrest and it also connects to people because they are willing to answer any questions regarding sudden cardiac arrest.
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All in all these digital spaces are designed to inform people about sudden cardiac arrest. They have great rhetorical appeal because they are credible and can connect to anyone who has lost someone close due to sudden cardiac arrest. All three of these digital spaces have logical reason. Sudden cardiac arrest is a serious issue that people should be aware of. Sudden cardiac arrest is something that must be handle quickly if it happens to someone. These digital places inform people about events that will teach people what to do if they see someone that suffered sudden cardiac arrest. All three spaces advocate for distribution of defibrillators in schools and public places. This is crucial because it could take minutes for medical attention to arrive and by then it will most likely be that the person has died because sudden cardiac arrest is something that must be treated as soon as possible.
Prezi Slideshow About Sudden Cardiac Arrest |
What To Do If You See Someone Collapse |