WAUKESHA, WI — Waukesha Police Department received an Automated External Defibrillator thanks to a company called Cardiac Science and the Kai Lermer Foundation on Friday.
Kai was a star triathlete at Waukesha North High school. He died in April at 16-years-old after playing basketball with friends. The family said Kai had Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. It's a genetic condition that can cause an irregular heartbeat. As a way to honor Kai and to make sure no other family goes through what the Lermers are going through, they presented the police department with their first squad car AED.
"To see a tough time, tough event, something good come out of it means so much," said Paul Ybarra, Kai's godfather.
On average, the Waukesha Police Department's response time is three minutes faster than other emergency vehicles. According to the American Heart Association, cardiac arrest victims chances of survival decrease by 10 percent with every minute that passes. Those three minutes could mean life or death.
"Police officers as first responders need two things: training and tools, and this is one of the most invaluable things we could have," Dennis Angle, Deputy Chief said.
The AED is a smart device. All the officers have to do is open the AED and follow the voice commands.
"Getting a life-saving device in law enforcements hands increases the survival rates in the community," Matthew Fox with Cardiac Science said.
Kai is missed dearly by his loved ones and friends, but his legacy will continue to help others.
The family hopes to work with the City of Waukesha to get an AED in each squad car. Waukesha Police has more than 20 police vehicles.
"If we can save some lives, that is really the goal here, so this is not impacting other families the way it impacted ours," Mike Lermer, Kai's father, said.
To help them on their mission to continue to provide AEDs, click here.
https://wccf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?setc=1&funit_id=1579
