One year later, family turns tragedy into heart screening mission

Almost one year after 14-year-old Colin Hill died from an undiagnosed heart condition, his family is turning the school where he collapsed into a place to screen other kids for heart problems.

Colin was a cross-country runner at McCluer High School. His father, Chris Hill, told First Alert 4 that Colin was cleared by a sports physical. That process does not require an EKG, which could catch hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic disease that causes a thickening of the heart muscle.

Since Colin’s death, Chris Hill has worked to raise awareness of the condition, known as HCM, and get kids screened.

“A bittersweet, full-circle moment, because the very place where we’re hosting the event is the very gym that my son was in moments before he collapsed in the locker room; we’re coming to bring life, to try to save lives in that same space,” Chris Hill said.

Sydney Philpott-Streiff, director of health innovation with the Ollie Hinkle Heart Foundation, said the goal of the event is to help people feel more prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency.

“We want people to just feel more confident,” Philpott-Streiff said. “We know that there are people that, most people are scared they’re going to make it worse. In reality, you can’t make it any worse. Just doing something can actually make a huge difference.”

Philpott-Streiff said 50% of heart conditions are not caught in newborn screenings, and there is little follow-up for healthy-looking kids.

The Hearts for Colin Health Fair is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the McCluer High School gym. The event will offer free heart screenings, plus CPR and AED training.

Push for Colin’s Law

There is also a push for Colin’s Law, which will come up in the next session of the Missouri Legislature. The law would change the sports physical requirement in Missouri to require an EKG screening.

“As a parent, I trusted in a sports physical, thinking he got a sports physical, he got cleared, so he’s fine, when that’s not a reality,” Chris Hill said.

“I just don’t want the loss, the pain we feel, to be in vain,” Chris Hill said. “I want to make sure that his legacy lives on, that it matters.”