Tina Charles Wants To Beat The Buzzer On Sudden Cardiac Arrest

The following is an excerpt from You Are A Mogul by Tiffany Pham, available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

As a professional athlete, I was always driven to achieve more and to not let my

sport define me. I sought to do this by serving others in and out of my sport. Even

though I’ve accomplished more than I could have ever dreamed in my career, it

has never been the only passion of my life. Success, in my opinion, is the ability to

impact someone else’s life. Playing in the WNBA has its rewards; most important

to me is the platform given to me and my peers to raise awareness on issues

important to us.

Plus, my mother always told me: “You have a voice. Make sure you use it.”

I use my voice on the court, with my teammates. And I use it off the court to

spread awareness about causes that truly matter. But it wasn’t until April 2013

when I really crystalized what my cause would be.

My aunt, Maureen “Hopey” Vaz, was incredibly special to me throughout

my life. She died in March 2013 to multiple organ failure. Hopey was known for

having a very giving heart and, when her own heart failed, it was a tragic loss to

our family and an eye-opener for me. Prior to her passing away, I read an article

on a high school basketball player, Wes Leonard. Wes died of Sudden Cardiac

Arrest (SCA), when the heart suddenly stops. Having an Automated External

Defibrillator (AED) on- site would have saved Leonard’s life. After being moved

by the sad and sudden loss of Wes Leonard and my aunt’s untimely death, I

refocused my efforts to help reduce the chances of student athletes falling victim

to Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Mirroring my Aunt Maureen’s giving heart, the

Hopey’s Heart Foundation was founded in April 2013.

The Hopey’s Heart Foundation was founded to prevent Sudden Cardiac

Arrest from claiming the lives of promising student athletes like Wes Leonard.

The Foundation offers grants to non-profit organizations to purchase life-saving

AED equipment.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest claims over 380,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests

episodes annually in the United States. The survival rate after SCA decreases by

7% to 10% every minute without the use of an AED. But if the victim has the

combination of an AED and CPR, there is a 75% increase in surviving SCA.

Since starting in April 2013, to date, Hopey’s Heart Foundation has placed

more than 300 of these devices throughout the world. I have personally donated

my entire WNBA salary to Hopey’s Heart Foundation, in order to keep

communities’ hearts safe.

And just this year, we saved our first life!

Mr. Dan Carlson, the head of landscaping at the Marbridge Foundation in

Austin, Texas, a residential care facility for adults with intellectual disabilities,

collapsed outside of the gym on their 240-acre campus. Co-workers rushed to his

aid, began to perform CPR, and called 9-1-1. Instructed by emergency responders

to use an AED, one was available inside of the gym thanks to the donation made

in 2014 from Hopey’s Heart Foundation.

Carlson was revived, survived the scare, and made a full recovery. I

recently got to meet him. He expressed his gratitude and shared the fact that he is

expecting to meet his first grandchild this year. It was an experience unlike any

other. I’ve had a lot of highs in my life, winning championships and Olympic gold

medals. But I’ve never had a moment like that.

It was amazing to see the impact that you can have if you just see a need

and are willing to act. I give glory to God for putting it on my heart to start

Hopey’s Heart Foundation.

Whatever is on your heart, just do it. Just have the willingness

to take that step. All I did was make a choice to do what I could about

a problem that seemed avoidable.

And someone is alive today because of that choice.

It is not easy to balance my full-time career with the Foundation and its

growth. We are today seeking funding and finally looking to hire staff full-time.

But at the end of every busy day, when I pack up to travel to one more place to

raise awareness, I always know why I am doing this.

And it makes all the work worth it.

By: Tina Charles, Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist, WNBA New York.

Liberty Player and Founder of Hopey’s Heart FoundationYou Are A Mogul debuted on September 4, 2018 by Simon & Schuster, available now on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.