A west suburban community now has three defibrillators at its two busiest parks, made possible in part by a family determined to put AEDs in parks after the life-saving device wasn’t available for their daughter.

The Western Springs Little League was granted a defibrillator through Jenny’s Mission, a foundation started by Bob and Michele Snyder, in their daughter’s name.

“Jenny was on an outdoor field when she collapsed with a sudden cardiac arrest, and there was no AED available,” said Michele Synder, Jenny’s mom.

Jenny, a 17-year-old Glenbrook North High School student, passed away in 2008. Her parents started the Jennifer Lynn Snyder Teen Heart Foundation to help prevent sudden cardiac death in children.

“Our mission is to fundraise in order to place AEDs, particularly in fields or on fields where youth participate,” said Bob Snyder, Jenny’s father.

Dr. Jim Sur has seen how a defibrillator can make all the difference.

“As a cardiologist, I’ve seen firsthand the saving power of a well-placed shock to the heart,” Sur said.

Sur is also the safety commissioner for the Western Springs Little League (WSLL). When Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills player, collapsed in January from a sudden cardiac event, Sur spoke to the Western Springs Little League board and the Western Springs Park District board of commissioners about the need to have defibrillators in village parks.

WSLL immediately reached out to Jenny’s Mission and filled out an application for a defibrillator.

“We have over 850 boys and girls who play baseball and softball in WSLL. We thought it was important to have the resources here, in case an accident ever occurred,” said Jeff Thiede, president of Western Springs Little League.

Jenny’s Mission recently fulfilled the league’s request and WSLL received an AED to install at Spring Rock Park, the league’s home field.

“Baseball being the most common sport for an episode, where a ball can hit a chest at the right time during the heart cycle and put a patient into an arrhythmia that can be life threatening,” Sur said.

But Sur points out it’s not just baseball and softball players that use the park, there are also soccer fields, basketball courts, tennis courts and more.

“We see that with every sport that kids play these days, and the more contact the more risk,” Sur said.

“We don’t want that to happen to any of the users of our parks,” said Matt Krull, a commissioner on the Western Springs Park District Board.

That’s why the Western Springs Park District purchased two additional defibrillators, in addition to the one WSLL received. Three AEDs will now be available at the village’s two busiest parks, Spring Rock and Springdale, accessible to the entire community.

“It’s more than just the kids in the park. It’s the residents and a resource that will hopefully just sit on a wall and we’ll never have to use,” Krull said.

What matters to Bob and Michele Snyder is that the AEDs are available and easy to use. That’s what they believe their daughter would want.

“I think it would make her smile a lot that that we were able to do this and make a difference for other families so that this doesn't happen,” Michele Snyder said.