PORT ST. LUCIE – High school student Jessica Clinton was practicing cheerleading in 2003 when she suffered cardiac arrest. Although a valiant effort of CPR was performed on the young girl, it was not successful. Clinton was only 17 years old at the time of her death.
It was later determined that Clinton had Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP), a heart defect. None of her sports physicals, nor her medical examinations over the years had detected a problem with her heart. Many people with MVP have no symptoms, and had Clinton undergone an electrocardiogram, x-ray, MRI, or CT scan at some point over the years, it may have been detected. If Clinton’s school had an automated external defibrillator (A.E.D.) on hand to jump start her heart when it stopped beating, her life may have been saved. Instead, her family has dedicated their lives to helping save the lives of other athletes and students.
In 2004 Clinton’s mother, Cheryl Lalloo, and her family created the Jessica Clinton MVP Foundation. The foundation raises funds to provide AEDs in schools, parks, athletic fields and recreational facilities. Lalloo went a step further and lobbied for a 2011 Florida law that requires every public school that participates in the Florida High School Athletic Association to have an operational AED on school grounds…