Testimonials

Dear Erik,
I want to thank you and your family for having the vision to put on such an amazing event and to educate the community at large about the importance of doing something as simple as monitoring your blood pressure that can truly save your life. I am 41 years old and consider myself to be very healthy and physical fit. In fact, I was the overall winner of the Trident Challenge this past year. I come from a long history of endurance training. I have completed well over 25 marathons and 6 Ironman Triathlons. So with that said, I have always considered myself a picture of health.

Just before the start of the event, you shared your father, Capt. Gerard Petroni’s story with the athletes and spectators and you stressed the importance of getting your blood pressure checked. This really touched me. I am a father of a soon to be 2 year old little boy and I want to be around for him for many years to come. So after the event, I had it checked and to my surprise, it was high. I had it checked periodically for the next few weeks and sure enough, I have high blood pressure. I made an appointment to see a Cardiologist and thankfully after several tests, I am ok. I am now watching my sodium intake and keeping an eye on the blood pressure to make sure that it doesn’t spike. I was told by the Cardiologist that they call this the silent killer, because although your blood pressure may be high, you feel fine until you have either a heart attack or in your father’s case, a brain bleed or stroke.

It is truly inspiring to see the tremendous positive impact that you have made and are making in our community as well as the potential lives that will be saved because of this awareness.

God Bless,
Paul Wilson

Testimonials

Dear Gerard, Karina and Erik Petroni,

It was an honor and pleasure to speak at the Never Quit Tour at Nease High School and the Beach Fest Event. As someone who cared for Captain Gerard Petroni, I can tell you that he and his family's story is nothing short of amazing. The story of Captain Petroni and his undiagnosed/uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension) is a disorder that many people in the United States have but are completely unaware of. Hypertension is known as a 'silent killer' because it takes the lives of people suddenly before they have any symptoms. Such was the case of Capt Petroni, with a sudden catastrophic brain hemorrhage.

Capt Petroni’s story is so amazing because he not only survived a devastating brain hemorrhage, but also made a fantastic recovery. Capt Petroni’s brain hemorrhage was from a Charcot Bouchard micro aneurysm (from hypertension) and intra-ventricular hemorrhage (bleeding within the cavities of the brain) which has a mortality of 80% or higher. To see Capt Petroni’s comeback from this type of brain injury is an inspiration and testament to an incredible man’s powerful will and a family’s unwavering love and passion for their father and husband.

Capt Petroni’s story also inspires those in the medical profession who cared for him in saving his life. Seeing Capt Petroni’s comeback now inspires the medical team the next time someone comes in with a similar condition? Capt Petroni’s story gives a wonderful message to the public about risk factors for stroke (brain attack) and heart attack. The events are very positive and inspiring to everyone. In this way, Capt Petroni’s story helps to save other people’s lives by knowing about their own health condition. Those that attended the Never Quit Tour at the Beach Fest and the High Schools all took away a powerful message: that knowledge is power, and knowing your health risk factors can impact decisions which can tremendously change your life in a meaningful way.

It was again an honor and pleasure to speak at these unique and positive events.

Sincerely,
W David Freeman,
M.D.Neurocritical Care Division, Neurscience Intensive Care Unit Director
Departments of Neurology and Critical Care
Mayo Clinic. Jacksonville, FL