15-year-old Anniston Fairbanks from Rapides Parish, Louisiana, has experienced cardiac arrest twice in her life. In October 2016, Anniston, then 9 years old, suffered cardiac arrest at school, but was saved by CPR.
A few years later, she experienced cardiac arrest again at an Alexandria Senior High football game, and was saved by her pacemaker. Louisiana law requires that automated external defibrillators (AEDs) be available at every high school and college that offers athletics, but Anniston and her family believe this is not enough protection.
To raise money to place at least one AED in every school, Anniston has started a GoFundMe campaign called ‘Saving Our Hearts‘, with the goal of providing more than one AED in larger schools, as well as training more school personnel in CPR.
The proceeds from the campaign will go towards purchasing AEDs, which cost around $1,500 each. The Rapides Parish School Board reports that every school and district building in the area has at least one AED with trained staff members, and some schools have more than one on site.