SOURCE: 7online.com
by Charles Perez

Nine-year-old Robbie Levine died September 27th when he collapsed rounding the baseball field where he played little league.

Craig Levine, Robbie's father: "He was a great kid... he just did whatever he could to make people happy."

Robbie's parents, Jill and Craig Levine, remember the day:

"A friend of mine came pounding on the door and said Robbie just passed out," Jill said.

"At first I thought he fainted ... wanted to perform CPR on him," Craig added.

But Robbie's heart was fluttering uncontrollably, unable to pump blood through his body. He needed a defibrillator to shock his heart back into rhythm. Without one, his life was slipping away. It was a parent's nightmare.

"I was there like almost watching myself... how could this be happening ... I can't believe this is happening," Craig said.

But it did happen and Jill and Craig committed to making a difference in Robbie's memory.

"We have to change this ... defibrillators are everywhere, especially in sports," Craig said.

So State Senator Charles Fuschillo got behind the effort by getting a grant to supply defibrillators for all Merrick little league fields with an eye on the entire state.

Fuschillo: "This needs to be on every field ... and saves lives. It's that simple."

So now, coaches are coming together to learn how to use the life saving devices in memory of Robbie, and to keep kids from needlessly having to die.

For his parents and little Josh and little Samantha, it's a way of keeping Robbie's memory alive.

In memory of Robbie and to continue the good work of getting defibrillators on sports fields, there will be a 5k run called Robbie's Run on April 29th. And the Boy Scouts will dedicate their Scoutwalk 2006 to the Robbie Levine Foundation.

For more information, log onto RobbieLevineFoundation.org