Dear Play for Patrick supporters and followers:

It was a great atmosphere being at Eagan Civic Arena on Hockey Day Minnesota, screening young hearts during the 2nd annual P4P Bantam AA Hockey Tournament!  Congratulations to all of the tournament participants for their hard work, fair play, good sportsmanship and Playing with heart!

We screened 143 Bantam Hockey players from 12 metro area teams participating in the tourney. With a little creativity from our wonderful volunteers, we managed to mix in a few girls too!

This would not have happened if not for the efforts of U of M Dr. Robert Wilson and Betsy Wilson for sharing our story and recruiting U of M Cardiologists Dr. Todd Drexel, Dr. Ganesh Raveendran, Dr. Shaun Martinho and Dr. Jason Bartos.  Thank you for your time and expertise and for helping us make this a successful screen. 

Dr. Shaun Martinho provided the following summary:

“Thanks for organizing a successful event and for having us from the U.  Today we found:

-Two complete right bundle branch blocks 

-A patent ductus arteriosis (PDA) 

-A ventricular septal defect (VSD), and

- A bicuspid aortic valve with a ascending aortic aneurysm.

One of these findings resulted in a recommendation to refain from further participation in competitive sports.  This is the reason we conduct these screenings.. to ensure our young athlete's lives are safe.  

Thank you again to all of our Play for Patrick volunteers for your time, talent, energy and passion to help save others.  We appreciate your patience as we contemplated the ability to hold this screen, your willingness to help on short notice, and your continued support.

Last but certainly not least, thank you to the Eagan Civic Arena manager Mark Vaughn and his staff for being great hosts, @EVYouthHockey & @Eagan_hockey associations, Co-Tournament coordinators Jim Lombardi & Heather Shultz and all of the tournament volunteers for putting on a great tournament.  Four teams last year, twelve teams this year……..we can’t wait to see what you have in store for next year!

Be on the lookout for information about our next screen in Stillwater - more info coming soon!

Sincerely,
The Play for Patrick Team