[View Post on LinkedIn] [UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals]In September 2023, Heather was in class in Tracy when her lips turned blue, and she began to wheeze and fell to the floor. A quick-thinking classmate called 911, and her principal began CPR. The police and fire department arrived, replacing her principal’s CPR with an AED machine. Soon after, Heather's heart stopped. Fortunately, after four shocks, her heart began to beat again. She was rushed to a local hospital, wh

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TRACY, Calif. – A 13-year-old from Tracy is recovering in a hospital after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at school and her parents credit the quick work of the community in saving her life. Heather Freligh is an eighth grader at Art Freiler School where Friday her parents say she slumped over her desk, fell off her chair, hit the ground and started to turn blue. “It was really scary because we didn’t know anything,” father Derek Ferligh said. She has no underlying medi

[View Story] For her first day back at school in 3 weeks, Heather Freligh had a police escort, complete with sirens and a ride in the Tracy Police Bearcat vehicle, as she arrived at Freiler School to be greeted by a contingent of Tracy Police officers and South San Joaquin County Fire Authority firefighters. Heather’s father, Derek Freligh, said that the Heather’s return to school on Monday morning wasn’t just a celebration of her surviving a near-fatal cardiac arrest while i

[Watch Video] [ANCHOR INTRO - HEATHER HOLMES] "A Bay Area teenager who beat the odds after surviving a sudden cardiac arrest is now using her second chance at life to help others. Just thirteen years old when she collapsed in her classroom back in September, Heather Freligh has quickly turned into a passionate advocate for heart health. Over the weekend, she spoke at the Heart Ball in Sacramento, helping to raise an incredible $250,000 for the American Heart Association. In a

[Watch Video] "A heartwarming and lifesaving reunion to tell you about. A local teenager and her former middle school principal were recently honored for their efforts to promote CPR awareness. Two years ago, Heather Freligh was just 13 years old when she suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while sitting in class at Art Freiler Elementary School in Tracy. Her principal, Stephen Theall, rushed to her aid and immediately began administering CPR, keeping her alive until paramedics

It was a normal Friday morning inside a classroom at Art Freiler School in Tracy. Thirteen-year-old Heather Freligh was sitting at her desk taking a math test when, without warning, she suddenly collapsed. McKenna Adamo (Classmate & Friend): "It was just so scary because she just fell out of her chair and no one knew what was going on. All of us were just praying and hoping for the best." Brooks Jarosz (Reporter): Heather had stopped breathing, her lips began turning blue, an

TRACY, Calif. - A convoy fit for a president arrived at a Tracy home Monday morning to surprise a 13-year-old who recently returned home from the hospital after a cardiac arrest at school last month. Dozens of Tracy police cruisers, two motorcycles and an armored truck rolled up in front of Heather Freligh’s house to escort her to school and let her ride in the bearcat. Tracy police Officer Alex Contreras, who did lifesaving CPR on Heather knocked on the door and hugged the

SACRAMENTO — An awards ceremony at the California State Capitol in Sacramento on Thursday recognized youth heroes and those who helped them help others. Malyna Torres-Melton, 13, couldn't find her phone so she grabbed her friend Mckenna Adamo's to act fast in helping their classmate Heather Freligh. "It was really scary. We didn't know what was going on," Adamo said. Heather woke up in the hospital not knowing what happened. The quick thinking and heroism that got her there w

A Tracy eighth-grader is recovering after a near-fatal medical emergency last week, which brought first-responders to a classroom at Freiler Elementary School to revive her. Heather Freligh, 13, was in class right after lunch on Friday when she suddenly went into cardiac arrest, slumped over at her desk and then fell to the floor. Her father, Derek Freligh, said that quick action by school staff, who immediately administered CPR, and classmates who called 9-1-1, saved her lif