Tina Charles meets man whose life she helped save with AED

There are many athletes at all levels of sports whose impact goes far beyond three-pointers, header goals, home runs, and touchdowns. The New York Liberty’s Tina Charles is one of those athletes.

Per USA Today Sports, The Hopey’s Heart Foundation received a letter from the Marbridge Foundation which is based outside of Austin. The letter had said that Dan Carlson, who works as a landscaper at the Texas-based foundation, was saved with an automated external defibrillator (AED) provided by the Hopey’s Heart Foundation.

All the glory belongs to God. I’m just a servant out here able to do his work, and that’s what Hopey’s Heart is all about—serving others. I don’t take any credit.

–Charles per USA Today

The amazing moment when @tinacharles31 met Dan Carlson, whose life was saved by an AED donated by @HopeysHeartFDN to @Marbridge1 Foundation pic.twitter.com/NW7hpdV2pD

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) September 1, 2017

This past Friday, Charles met the Carlson family at the Liberty’s practice facility.

Charles did not receive prior notice of the visit by Carlson and his family, but noticed that her mother – who also is the Hopey’s Heart Foundation’s executive director – was at practice and was wondering what the particular occasion was.

Charles started the foundation in honor of her late aunt, Maureen “Hopey” Vaz. She passed away of multiple organ failure in March of 2013. Originally, she donated a portion of her WNBA salary to Hopey’s Heart – but that contribution was upped to a donation of her entire salary to benefit the foundation’s efforts.

The organization strives to save the lives of individuals such as Wes Leonard. He was a high school student-athlete who succumbed to Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) at the end of a basketball game in March of 2011. AEDs are a central focus of Hopey’s Heart.

According to the Hopey’s Heart website, the foundation has managed to place nearly 300 AEDs around the world at the schools and the community centers that have needed them. The Foundation’s efforts have not been limited to only the United States as the website pinpoints that some of the AEDs have gone to countries such as Spain, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Belgium.