Unsung Hero: Darren Sudman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Every Tuesday on the 94WIP Mike & Ike Show, Michael Barkann and Ike Reese welcome a new #UnsungHero in Philadelphia on their show. This unsung hero is recognized for their off-the-field accomplishments. If you are interested in being an #UnsungHero call 215-625-6550.
You can see all of the heroes at CBSPhilly.com/unsunghero.
Darren Sudman
"This gentleman is a friend of mine, and in 2004, he and his wife Phyllis had a little boy named Simon," Michael Barkann explained in his introduction of Darren Sudman on the 94WIP Mike & Ike Show. "And Simon [Sudman] weighed in at six pounds, 15 ounces. At seven weeks old, he smiled for the first time, and he passed away at 47 days later. And by all signs, Simon Sudman was healthy and normal, but his little heart had a tiny unknown defect called long QT syndrome. And since that time, Darren Sudman and Phyllis Sudman have devoted their lives to making sure what happened to their beautiful little boy doesn't happen to any other boys or girls out there."
Sudman is the chairman and director of Simon's Fund.
"Phyllis and I just knew that we had to do something and then over the course of a few months, we discovered what that something was," Sudman to Barkann and Ike Reese. "When we got our hearts checked, Phyllis was diagnosed with a heart condition called long QT syndrome."
Listen: Darren Sudman on the 94WIP Mike & Ike Show
"Then we started hearing stories of kids that were dropping dead playing sports or in the classroom," Sudman continued. "We realized that sudden cardiac arrest isn't just an adult thing. And as a result of that discovery, we decided to try to prevent these deaths from happening. In about nine years we have provided about 10,000 free heart screenings and we found almost 100 kids that had undetected heart conditions and many of them now work with us, to try and raise awareness about the fact that sudden cardiac arrest isn't just an adult thing."
Go to Simonsfund.org for more information.
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