Even as a teenager, Preston Settles was known for his kindness and his knack for befriending anyone in any circumstance. This month, three years after his death from a sudden cardiac arrest while playing basketball, he continues to bring people together.
Next Wednesday evening (June 11), hundreds of guests are expected to gather at the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts, where the Preston Settles Memorial Fund will host a PS3 Casino Night from 6 to 11 p.m. to raise both awareness of cardiac arrest as a leading cause of death in young athletes and the funds needed to address ways to deal with such emergencies.
“This event is more than a fundraiser; it’s reducing bystander hesitancy to respond in the event of an emergency such as cardiac arrest,” explains Preston’s dad, Darryl Settles. “Anyone can use an AED [Automated External Defibrillator] or start CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitatiion]. Every minute counts.”
The Settles family is committed to reduce the chances of more tragedies like the one that struck their home when Preston— just 15—collapsed during a ballgame in February 2022. His emergency, caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, could have been treated with a portable medical device — an AED— but there wasn’t one immediately at hand to administer care when Preston was stricken.
The Brooks School freshman was hospitalized for 22 days before his family made the difficult decision to remove all life support on Feb. 27.
Soon after his death, his parents, Darryl and Lisa Owens, M.D., and his sister, Taylor, set up the Memorial Fund to buy and distribute AEDs to facilities and sports-related organizations throughout the Commonwealth — and also train coaches and others on how to use them.
“Even if we had put the AED on him as soon as he collapsed, there’s no guarantee that he would have survived, but it would give people a greater chance at survival,” his dad explained. “I think Preston would be proud of us, not just keeping his name around, but the fact that we’re educating.”
The family has also pushed for new legislation —The Preston Settles “Every Minute Counts” Act (H.4121)— which is still awaiting approval on Beacon Hill. If passed, this proposal would requires AEDs at all public sporting events in the Commonwealth with identifiable trained personnel to facilitate their use when needed.
“Every second your brain is not getting oxygen, you’re losing brain cells. If you go five minutes without oxygen to your brain, you’re impaired for life,” said Settles. “That’s why we call it Preston Settles Every Minute Counts.”
The family is also working with the American Heart Association to get CPR training back into Massachusetts schools.
“There was a time in the Commonwealth when it was required to graduate from high school, and you had to know CPR. That law went away,” said Settles. “We’re going to grant money to the American Heart Association to reach out to all the schools that want to do it so they can do it again.”
Most of the money raised next Wedneasday night, which will feature gaming tables for Blackjack, Roulette and Craps, will be used to advance progress on this legislation. Additional funds will be donated to the Boston Children’s Hospital and Tufts Medical Center for research on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), Settles said.
On scene that night will be representatives from the American Heart Association and Zoll Medical, the largest manufacturer of AEDs, who will teach guests how to administer CPR and use a defibrillator.
Though the event stems from tragedy, the Settles family wants the night to embody the “happy-go-lucky” attitude that Preston was known for.
“If he got mad at anything in ten minutes, he’d be laughing again. It could be with me, his mom, his teachers, his coaches. He just never dwelled on anything,” shared his father, a well-known restaurateur and entrepreneur. Said his mother Lisa, an accomplished physician: “He lived by the idea of ‘Never have a bad day.’”
Preston’s friends from Newton, where the family lives, remember him that way too.
“He was funny, always brightened my day, just kind of lived a very happy-go-lucky lifestyle,” said Aidin Bina, who grew up a block away from the Settles home. “I tend to be a little too serious at times. He balanced me out very well. I miss that about him. He was unique, and I think other people liked that about him because it reminded them to just enjoy what they enjoy and enjoy life.”
The casino night will also feature a “Dinner Dine-Around with chefs Lydia Shire and Douglass Williams. As attendees play games, enjoy live entertainment from Brothers Walk Bank, and eat delicious food, Preston’s close friend Manny Piera wants people “who didn’t know Preston get a chance to see what everyone else saw.
“I just hope that everyone can see how great of a kid he was and how much he impacted the world during his short time. Look at three years later: We’re having this huge casino night. He’s still living through us, and that’s what I want people to see.”
To purchase a ticket to the PS3 Casino Night or to make a donation, visit https://ps3casinonight.org/.
