Atlanta native turns tragedy into crusade

An Atlanta native has turned the tragedy of her husband’s death into a purpose and crusade to save the lives of others.

Eight years ago, Kelci Stringer’s famous husband, Korey Stringer, died of heat exhaustion during practice with the Minnesota Vikings.

At the time, Stringer, who was born and raised in Decatur, admits she experienced every emotion imaginable. But most of the time, she was angry.

She had questions, like how could such a thing have ever happened to her and her family?

“People usually don’t die from heat stroke,” she said. “It is not something you hear about on the news every day.”

And so she started doing the research.

“After it happened, people would call,” she said. “Mothers of young children would call me and share with me their experiences with the same kind of situation.”

She said there is one conversation in particular that stands out for her about a young woman who was out playing kickball with some friends.

“She suffered a heat stroke and is now mentally retarded,” Stringer said.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that approximately 400 people die from heat exhaustion each year. From 1973-2003 excessive heat exposure caused 8,015 deaths in the United States.

From these stories, Stringer decided to take the foundation named for her husband, the Korey Stringer Foundation, and focus its efforts on educating young athletes, their parents and their coaches about the affects of heat strokes and how to prevent them.

Their signature endeavor, “Drink to Live,” is a partnership with the National Football League, Gatorade and the Korey Stringer Foundation.

With the help of researchers from the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education, they are providing what they feel is the necessary life-saving information about proper hydration. She has been disseminating this information in whatever way she can; mostly by traveling around the country and speaking at schools or during conferences.

“I want to keep what I experienced Aug. 1, 2001, from happening to anymore young athletes and their families,” she said. “Not another life should be lost so unexpectedly. The information is out there.”

The next step of her “movement” will be on the usage of proper equipment.

“What I learned from Korey’s death was that his body did not have the chance to cool down,” she said. “The equipment contributed significantly to his death. “Heat was not allowed to escape his body.”

This is her calling, she said, and why she serves as executive director of the Foundation.