SAN ANTONIO — The pain of losing a son evolved into a purpose for Tim and Erica Mohr. It did not start that way.
"It's been the hardest year because he's not here," Tim Mohr said. "I miss him every day."
Jackson Mohr, 13, died on April 22, 2021. According to the Mohrs, doctors said it was sudden cardiac arrest.
"We had no idea. Absolutely none," Erica Mohr said. "And I am on point with health."
The Sudden Cardiac Attack Foundation said a sudden cardiac attack is when the heart instantly stops beating, and it is not the same as a heart attack.
According to the foundation, the life-threatening heart abnormality can strike anyone--at any age or presumably in good health. Statistics show one in ten survives sudden cardiac arrest, and they said seven out of ten incidents happen at home, as with Jackson Mohr.
"When Tim found him. I went straight upstairs, and I'm a flight attendant, and I started doing CPR on him until the sheriff came," Erica Mohr said. "and then EMS came."
Jackon got rushed to the hospital on April 19. He lay in the bed as doctors searched for answers.
"So there was a good day and a half where we just had no idea what it was," Tim Mohr said.
The sudden cardiac arrest became sudden cardiac death three days later. The family got so grief-struck that they could not stay in their home for four months. Jackson's sister Bianca wanted no part of the second floor where she and her brother had bedrooms.
"It was just too much for him," Bianca Mohr said.
As the family tried to make sense of the loss, they said the community wrapped their arms around them. The Mohrs started to find life in the stories people would share about Jackson.
"I'm so amazed how much he touched outside of our home. So proud of that. I can't just stay in bed every day," Erica Mohr said.
Friday became a great example of the love for their son. TMI hosted 'Jackson Mohr Day.' The TMI family honored the seventh-grader with a small ceremony where San Antonio City Councilman Manny Pelaez read a proclamation in Jackson's honor from the mayor and other councilmembers.
"It's been weird because he's not here, but it's been beautiful because of how many people he's touched," Bianca Mohr said.
The students were encouraged to do twenty-two good things for Jackson Friday. His baseball number was 22. According to his mother, it was for two parents and two children---their family unit.
The Mohrs have returned to their home, but his sister occupies another space for a bedroom. They are converting the siblings' former space into what they describe as a happy space---a place to hang the memorabilia collected since his death.
"It can be a place where if we just need peace and quiet," his sister said. "And we just need to get things out; you can go up there."
Friday evening, the push to get more heart screenings for children continues at McAllister Park. The Mohrs started working with an existing non-profit called AugustHeart, which tries to decrease teens dying from sudden cardiac death by getting them screened.
They will put up an AED in McAllister Park Friday evening too. The Sudden Cardiac Foundation said surviving these incidents increase with CPS and AEDs. For the Mohrs, it's moving forward with purpose, so no family has to live their April 22.
"He is bigger in heaven as much as I want him here. I am on most days ok with it---because we'll save more lives," Erica Mohr said. "He did his part here."