Had second grader Michael Ehlers been born five years earlier than he was, he wouldn’t be alive. The heart surgery he required 36 hours after birth for his “catastrophic congenital heart defect” couldn’t be done five years prior to his birth.
“The research that made my brother’s surgery possible was paid for by the American Heart Association,” Michael’s fifth grade sister Grace told student at Beryl Heights Elementary School during an assembly in the school yard Tuesday morning.
The Ehlers siblings were at Beryl to thank students for participating in the national Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser. Last year, the Redondo School district raised over $100,000 during the fundraiser, making it the statewide fundraiser’s biggest contributor, according to American Heart Association spokesperson Kim Siehl.
The annual event has special significance to Redondo Beach School Superintendent Steven Keller and Beryl School principal Karen Mohr.
Keller lost both parents to heart disease. Mohr’s husband Carl, who visited with students Tuesday morning, was born with a congenital heart condition, which has required four open heart surgeries.
Keller said fundraising “for others” is part of the district’s efforts to educate the “whole child.”
Mohr noted that Beryl School is the only school in California and one of only 14 in the nation to receive “Gold” recognition from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which fights childhood obesity.
Beryl is currently participating in the National Football League Play 60 Challenge, which challenges students to exercise 60 minutes a day. The month long Challenge ends March 8. Los Angeles area schools that complete the challenge will receive visits from Rams players, Mohr said. ER
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