Some legislation is literally a matter of life and death.
Case in point: A Port St. Joe Republican is spotlighting how a bill requiring high school athletes to get heart screenings is already paying off in the best way.
Rep. Jason Shoaf’s “Second Chance Act” (HB 1135) mandates that all high school student-athletes must get a physical that includes an electrocardiogram.
The bill was inspired by Chance Gainer, a high school football player from the same town who collapsed during a game against Liberty County last year while he was playing cornerback.
Gainer had scored a touchdown in that game as well as the one the preceding week, but the star athlete passed away at the hospital while the game was still going on.
With Gainer’s memory still fresh in the minds of locals, the legacy bill his tragic example inspired is already saving lives.
And in a measure of the close-knit nature of Port St. Joe, the first life is a family member of the deceased.
Iva Rae Williams, a cousin of Gainer’s who plays softball, soccer and volleyball, showed signs of the same cardiac issue that Gainer had.
But her grateful mother says the screening helped the family avoid a second tragedy.
“The Second Chance Act saved Iva Rae’s life. It has been an incredible blessing to see how the tragedy of her cousin turned into a lifesaving measure for our daughter,” said Lindsay Williams, Iva Rae’s mother. “I cannot encourage families more to get their children screened. It could save your child’s life.”
Iva Rae Williams has a surgery scheduled for later this month, and eyes getting back in the games as soon as she is cleared.
Shoaf says the “Williams family’s experience is a testimony to the power of The Second Chance Act.”
“This screening likely saved her life, and spared the Gainer family from suffering another horrific tragedy. The Second Chance Act is more than just a law, it’s a promise to parents that we will do everything possible to prevent tragedies like this from happening to their child,” he added.
These screening events are held statewide, of course.
And Shoaf hopes other student-athletes benefit.
“Soon, Iva Rae can return to the field safely, and her parents can take comfort knowing she will still be able to do what she loves and come home at the end of every game. I hope this is one of many stories we hear of lives saved from the Second Chance Act.”
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