VANCOUVER – The Surrey school district has confirmed it's planning to install defibrillators in all public high schools by the end of the next month.
That's welcome news to Esmeralda Gomez, whose teenage son unexpectedly went into cardiac arrest over the summer.
"I'm feeling so overwhelmed, so excited, you have no idea," Gomez told CTV News on Wednesday.
After her son Alex was hospitalized, Gomez was shocked to learn the 15-year-old's high school doesn't have an automated external defibrillator – a device that could potentially save his life should he collapse again.
A petition she launched calling for AEDs in all Surrey schools has since gathered more than 2,200 signatures, and the family has made sure politicians from Surrey to Ottawa have seen it.
"I actually emailed it to Justin Trudeau, John Horgan, the MLA from Fleetwood, just trying to get it out there," Gomez said.
She still wants to see the B.C. government require schools across the province to equip AEDs, but said for now, she's relieved that Surrey will be joining the handful of cities that already do.
A spokesperson for the Surrey school district told CTV News they expect to have AEDs installed – and staff trained on how to use them – by the end of November.
Asked about its position on AEDs, B.C.'s Ministry of Education has previously said it follows the advice of the provincial health officer, who supports the installation of defibrillators in schools where there are children or staff with medical conditions that could require them.
Gomez said she provided a doctor's referral to Alex's school, but is still waiting to hear an AED has been installed. In the meantime, her family has a portable defibrillator they carry around to keep him safe.
"For soccer games or any activities he participates in, we take it with us," Gomez said.
Correction: A previous version of this story suggested all public schools would be getting AEDs. The defibrillators are not being installed in elementary schools.
