Two families connected by tragedy at Grafton High School
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Annie Scholz reports Video by tmj4.com
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GRAFTON- Two families connected by tragedy. Josh Davis-Joiner died during basketball practice at Grafton High School Monday night. The same thing happened to a Whitefish Bay family years ago.
TODAY'S TMJ4 sat down with the father about the heartbreak and his mission to try to save lives.
Joe Lemel lost his son Adam when he collapsed and died in the very same gym at Grafton High School 13 years ago. Now, Joe is a crusader for having defibrillators on hand, and one family says his hard work, saved their little girl.
Joe Lemel's 17-year-old son Adam died during a basketball game at Grafton High School in 1999. Hearing that the same thing happened to another family this week hit him hard.
"When a perfectly healthy 17-year-old suddenly collapses and dies, it truly violates all order," said Joe Lemel. "To think that it was in the same spot, in the same place, in the same school as Adam was, I just can't really describe it."
Lemel started "Project ADAM" in honor of his son, to get more defibrillators, education, and training into the community. "The saves are incredibly rewarding...there was a save in Green Bay and this is the youngest one I'm aware of."
That "save" was 3-year-old Morgan Frain. She collapsed at Lambeau Field last Saturday.
"I went to go pick her up and she was completely lifeless," said father Patrick Frain.
Patrick and Susan Frain used a nearby defibrillator to bring their daughter back to life. "I felt a heartbeat it was just pounding through her chest and she started screaming," said Susan Frain.
A little girl now on the mend, because of a family's mission to keep anyone else from feeling their grief. "No family should ever have to go through that, but if it wasn't for 'Project ADAM', she wouldn't be here."
Joe Lemel told TODAY'S TMJ4, "The goal of 'Project ADAM' was simply to say no kid should ever collapse like Adam did and not have the best chance of survival."
If you'd like more information about Project ADAM, and how it could help your school or business, go to click here.
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