Mother creates nonprofit in honor of son who died playing soccer

CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — Nearly two years after a woman's son died of heart failure at soccer practice, a nonprofit in his honor is up and running.

Aidan Heath died in Cherokee County in 2016 due to heart failure, and the family says there was no defibrillator that anyone could immediately find before medics arrived.

"I didn't want other parents to go through what I went through with Aidan," Aidan's mother, Ashley Heath, told Channel 2's Matt Johnson.

Ashley Heath has turned the pain of losing her 7-year-old son into progress she hopes will save other lives.

"Everybody thinks it will never happen to them, it can happen to anybody," she said.

The family tried to get legislation passed for more accessible automated external defibrillators (AED's) at parks across the state. But now Aidan's family has their own nonprofit to advocate for more AEDs and free training for coaches.

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"They want to make sure that you got a clean background but they don't ever ask you do you know how to save somebody's life," Ashley Heath said.

She began laying the foundation for "AED-4-life" after Aidan died from heart failure.

His family says there was an AED nearby but no one on the field knew about it for the 10 minutes it took for paramedics to arrive.

"The quicker that you have the use of an AED the better the chances are of bringing the heart back to beating," she said.

The nonprofit is planning to visit parks, coaches, and parents in the summer to start a conversation about what AEDs are.

"Now, I look for the signs everywhere that we go," she said.

Ashley Heath says through pain she has no doubt she and Aidan have found a new purpose - together.

"I'm proud of myself and him for saving lives," she said.

To learn more about the non-profit, AED-4-life, click here.

Cox Media Group