SAN DIEGO--A piece of equipment saved the life of an El Cajon high school student, and now his family is pushing for all schools to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) on campus.
Last September, Jacob Huerta was in his English class at Granite Hills High School when he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was only 15 years old.
"The nurse came with an AED and the next time I woke up, I was in the hospital," said Jacob, who also suffers from seizures.
After the incident on campus, he was in the hospital for a month. Doctors eventually implanted a defibrillator/pacemaker to regulate his heart, something very unusual for someone so young.
"It's always frightening … to know you're going to go to the hospital, and not know the conclusion when you get there," said Jacob's father, Richard Huerta.
Every school in the Grossmont Union High School District has an AED on campus, but it is not required by California law.
