With the beginning of March comes the anniversary of Ja’Leel Freeman’s tragic passing, which took place on March 4, 2015. The 17 year-old, who suffered from a heart condition unknowingly, had collapsed during track practice and was not able to be revived. It has been a year since Ja’Leel’s death and the community has come together to organize an event that to honor and raise awareness of these heart conditions that can be found with a simple test.

The Raymore-Peculiar School District and Athletic Testing Solutions have coordinated the first annual Youth Heart Screening for the community in memory of Ja’Leel Freeman that will provide students and athletes throughout the area to be tested for any heart defects. The Memorial Heart Screening will take place on Saturday, March 5 located at the high school in the south patio commons.

Head track coach Jamin Swift who was there at the practice of Ja’Leel’s collapse, hopes that this event raises awareness for others to get tested.

“This is just an opportunity for, if nothing else, a peace of mind for parents and the athletes to know that their bodies are in good work. We already run our kids through pretty rigorous physicals each year but sometimes running the heart through these kinds of test will give you a much better idea of what’s going on,” said Swift.

After Ja’Leel’s passing, several heart screening organizations contacted the school district in hopes to organize an event that would help promote early detection services that may not be provided in a regular physical or sports check-up. However, the school worked with ATS, located in Kansas City, to organize the one offered to the community on March 4.

This event has been in the works for months, however the motivation to put together an event like this was personal to the students and staff at the high school. Since Ja’Leel passed in March of last year, the school wants to continue running this event around the date of his death to shine light on heart screenings and ways to detect heart defects, before they become fatal such as Ja’Leel’s case. These abnormalities are found in 800 newborns a week. Eric Schroeder, Director of Clinical Operations at ATS, encourages others to become knowledgeable about the various ways to detect these heart conditions.

“We knew there was an opportunity to help educate people and get the word out that there are ways to detect certain heart conditions before they happen. We felt that it was important. That’s why we tried to reach out in order to prevent tragedies like this from happening,” said Schroeder.

Athletic Director Tom Kruse has helped organize this heart screening to be timed near the date of the collapse.

“We want to keep it in March for his memory. Tragedies happen, and you’re never prepared for it. [Ja’Leel’s passing] was a learning experience for all of us last year. It’s something that we hope we never have to go through again. We want to do whatever we can to prevent it. Although I don’t know if anything would have ever prevented what happened, this is something we can do. In honoring him, we want to provide this opportunity for Ray-Pec kids and others to come to this,” said Kruse.

The long-term target that this Memorial Screening hopes to achieve is that the event raises enough funds to continue this screening in the future, to honor Ja’Leel.

“Our goal is that down the road, the memorial makes money to fund the heart screening for any kid that wants it. It’s still in the early processes and we are trying to find ways to fund it and do a fundraiser,” said Kruse.

The purpose of this event is to give friends and family an affordable opportunity to detect heart problems and abnormalities. Each participant who wishes to receive a screening signs up for a 30-minute time slot. During this time, ATS’s doctors and physicians hook the patient up to a monitor and read the screenings to check for any warning signs of heart disease or defects that might be present. The procedure is fast and simple and is the first step in reassuring parents of their young athlete’s health.

Although Ja’Leel’s passing was nothing less than a tragedy, the school district and ATS are working hand in hand to formulate another way to honor the young man’s memory.

If you or someone you know is interested in registering your athlete or teenager for a heart screening on March 5th at Raymore-Peculiar High School, please visit www.ATSHeartcheck.com or call 913.735.5760 to set up your appointment. The fee is $99, however one can apply for financial assistance that is possible through Strive for Life & Jordan Robert Mann Foundation. Pre-registration is required.

This is not the only opportunity that members of the community can support and honor Ja’Leel’s memory. The track team is still planning to organize the Lucky 13 Marathon event that will take place March 12th. The event will have a Mile for Ja’Leel that will allow students and teammates to walk and honor his life.