Mothers host heart screening event
There were more than three dozen volunteers at a heart screening event held at Rock Canyon High School
in September.
Hidden Pointe resident Shari Peck joined with another mother, Sharon Bates, to help host a heart screening event in September at Rock Canyon High School (RCHS). Both parents lost their children – Kyra Peck, who attended RCHS and Anthony Bates – to undiagnosed heart conditions; both were only 20 years old. Shari and Sharon, who lives in Arizona, had never met in person until the event.
Following the loss of her son in 2000, Sharon founded the Arizona-based Anthony Bates Foundation, the nonprofit organization that coordinated the event. The two mothers hope screenings will bring awareness to potential cardiac issues in young people.
“We screened 215 people and had 120 on a waitlist that we couldn’t get in but who want to be contacted when we do the next one,” said Shari. The results were significant: 12 people had “potentially life-threatening findings.” The ladies are planning to host another screening in the spring.
For more information, visit kyrapeckmemorial.org or anthonybates.org.
Kids getting evaluated for potential undiagnosed heart conditions.
By Hollen Wheeler; photos courtesy of Shari Peck
