Jenny Willis-Davis: An advocate for young athletes' health

Jenny Willis-Davis was working in downtown Houston last October when her husband contacted her.

Jenny Willis-Davis

“He got a phone call from school. They told him, ‘You need to come get your son immediately or we’re calling the ambulance,’” she said.

Not something that any parents want to hear about their 13-year-old.

“My husband was coming from Channelview, and I’m driving from downtown feeling like it’s taking forever to get there,” Jenny said.

Jalen had been sitting in class at Highlands Junior School when he realized that his heart was beating out of his chest.

“Being teenage boys, he and his friends started laughing,” Jenny said.

The teacher sent Jalen to the office, where his heart rate was clocked at an alarming 241 beats per minute.

“After we got there, we rushed him to the emergency center,” Jenny said. “They hooked him up, ran all the tests, and the EKG came back showing he had Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.”

WPW is a condition in which there is an extra electrical pathway between the heart's upper and lower chambers. As long as the heart is pumping and it bypasses that pathway, you’re fine. But if it hits that circuit, it can lead to periods of rapid heart rate.

Their doctor presented the Davis family with several treatment options. Told that there was a 95 percent chance of fixing the problem with a catheter ablation procedure, “that was a no-brainer.”

However, Jalen was terrified.

An EKG showed that Jalen Davis had
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

“He was like, ‘Why would you do this to me?’ At the time, he didn’t understand the seriousness of it,” Jenny said.

The six-hour procedure, performed two months later during the holiday break from school, was a success.

“The doctor finally came out and told us that Jalen definitely had Wolff-Parkinson-White, and he was able to fix it. We all started tearing up at the good news,” Jenny said.

“But then he said that Jalen was having way more activity than we probably realized. With a condition like his, and his activity level playing lots of sports, it put him in a high range for sudden death if we hadn't fixed things.”

After some initial caution, Jalen was back to playing basketball for Highlands Junior in two weeks. “And now as he’s running track, you’d never have known that he had a heart condition,” Jenny said.

Since the surgery, she has become something of an expert on Wolff-Parkinson-White. Through her research, she realized that there’s a huge lack of awareness about the health issue.

“What parents need to understand is that this can happen to your kid. Don’t be so blind. If your child is telling you his heart is racing, listen to him. And get it checked. If they find it, it can be fixed,” Jenny said.

Brothers Jace (left) and Jalen Davis

“Fortunately, it wasn’t a tragic ending for us. I don’t want it to be for anyone else, either.”

Jenny has shared her knowledge about WPW with family, friends and local coaches. She helped push for a school district-wide physical day in May with heart screenings for student-athletes in grades 7-12.

Taking such an active role where youth are concerned is nothing new for Jenny and her husband, Willis (yes, his first name is Willis and her maiden name is Willis). They have been heavily involved in local athletics since their two sons started playing T-ball at age 5.

Jalen, now 14, has followed in the footsteps of Jace, 15. They both play multiple sports, Jalen (5-foot-9 1/2, 138 pounds) at Highlands Junior and Jace (6-1, 238) at Goose Creek Memorial High School.

When the boys played baseball in the North Little League, you could often find Willis coaching and Jenny serving as team mom. Eventually, Jenny joined the league’s board.

Now she is president of Baytown Little League and Willis serves on that board. Opening day for the 2017 season is scheduled for March 25.

Jenny with her husband, Willis

“With the support of our board and the city, we’ve been able to make some positive changes,” said Jenny, mentioning aesthetic updates and safety enhancements at the three local ballparks.

All of this preparation has gone on while Jenny and Willis have followed their sons’ sports exploits.

But they are happy to keep busy — Jenny also is president of the Goose Creek Memorial football booster club — and to have their family health concerns behind them.

Prior to Jalen’s scare, Willis beat thyroid cancer and Jenny had knee surgery to repair an old sports injury.

“We definitely have battled these past few years,” Jenny said. “But I keep thinking there must be a better plan for us. After what we’ve been through, it’s obviously not our time yet.”