She drove 250 miles (400 kilometers) from her home in Clearwater to the Capitol, describing the trip as a spur-of-the-moment decision. She sat watching the Senate and House conducting business, and she took in whatever she could to plan out her next steps to bring about change.
“I came here to see what I could do,” Williams said.
Williams would later crossed paths with Aldaheff at the Capitol. She said she wanted to learn from Alhadeff, who is now a member of the Broward County School Board.
“Our children were lost in a traumatic situation, and my heart breaks for any other mother. And I can feel the pain that they feel,” Alhadeff said of Williams and Giordano. “Even if it was different kinds of tragedies, it’s still the pain of losing a child.”
Giordano’s son died in the summer of 2017 after collapsing in the Florida heat during practice.
After her son’s death, Giordano founded the Zach Martin Memorial Foundation, which has worked to raise awareness about the dangers of heat-related stresses. As part of its work, the foundation has donated 40 cooling tubs to schools across Florida.
Her son, she said, would still be alive if life-saving equipment were at the sidelines during practice — perhaps a water-filled tub — to immediately cool down his body.
“I’m exhausted, but it’s OK. Once this is over, I’m going to collapse for a week,” Giordano said while waiting for lawmakers to take action on her bill.
“A six-hour drive is a long time to be alone with your thoughts,” she said, “that’s when the emotions is really hard. That’s when the tears flow.”
If passed by Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, public schools would be required to have a tub or other large container filled with cold water at the sidelines during all games and practices. Schools also would be required to have defibrillators to resuscitate stricken athletes. The proposed law would also require schools to train personnel on how to recognize signs of heat-related ailments, including potentially deadly heat strokes, and to take life-saving actions.
But even at the brink of success, Giordano said there is little comfort.
“I still cry every day,” she said. “There is no consoling. No, it doesn’t get better.”
Associated Press
