CINCINNATI — A Northern Kentucky family said Damar Hamlin's recovery highlights the importance of immediate action when it comes to cardiac arrest.
"Having what we saw, what we witnessed, Monday night ... that (response) needs to happen in all levels of sports," Kim Mangine said.
Mangine and her husband have been advocates for Defibrillatorsat every site since their 16-year-old son died. Matthew Mangine Jr., a student at St. Henry District High School, collapsed during soccer practice in 2020.
"There were 5 AEDs at the school that night and one wasn't brought to him," his father Matthew Mangine Sr. said. "That night his initial shock came from EMS. They arrived roughly 12 minutes after he was down."
He passed away at the hospital about an hour later.
"We miss him," Kim Mangine said. "But we know he's there with us every day and I see signs all the time."
The couple started a nonprofit in his honor, The Matthew Mangine Jr. “One Shot” Foundation. Their goal is to educate parents, coaches and athletes about the importance of properly executing Emergency Action Plans. They said no family should have to endure the pain of a preventable sudden death.
"We created a training program called 'Take 10,'" Matthew Mangine Sr. said. "Our goal is to train all coaches at least twice a year where we have training dummies, AED trainers and everything."
Damar Hamlin's recovery gives them hope that other teams will follow suit.
"It's a big wake-up call for America that this is something that needs to be addressed," Matthew Mangine Sr. said. "If you can get an AED on to a sudden cardiac arrest within the first three minutes, your chances of success is 90%. Every minute thereafter, your chances decrease by 10%.”
There are no laws requiring AEDs at practices and competitive events in Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana. Advocates like the Mangines are pushing for the laws to change.
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