Athlete Suffers Cardiac Arrest and Seizure During Game, Athletic Trainer Performs CPR for 10 Minutes
A middle-school athlete has been hospitalized after going into cardiac arrest Tuesday during a basketball game.
A Southside Christian School spokesman said Kamari “K Will” Williams, an eighth-grader, “experienced a seizure and cardiac arrest” during the event, according to WYFF-TV.
“By God’s grace, trainer Chris Young was on-site at the game and stepped in to perform CPR for close to 10 minutes until EMTs could arrive,” Denny Vauters told the news outlet. “They were able to stabilize Kamari and transport him to the hospital.”
Vaunters said they are “praising God for K Will’s life, the staff involved in the emergency, and are praying for wisdom for the doctors now trying to understand how and why this happened.”
In a follow-up Facebook post, Rod Shaw Jr. expressed appreciation for the prayers, phone calls and messages Williams has received since the incident.
“As you see in the picture K-Will is doing great and in good spirits,” Shaw reported.
He added that the young man “has no brain damage or organ failure.”
“Doctors are still running test to discover what [happened],” he added.
He added a request for well-wishers to continue to pray for Williams, but not to “bombard them” with calls and messages.
“We will post another update when we have more info,” he promised.
“May God continue to show his hand and purpose in Kamari’s life,” Shaw concluded.
“Let’s all be thankful to God for his son Jesus for his blood that never [loses] its power and the prayers of the saints.”
The outlook did not seem as positive for another student-athlete who also suffered a cardiac episode Tuesday, this time in Michigan.
In that incident, Cartier Woods, a senior at Northwestern High School in Detroit, “went into cardiac arrest” during a varsity basketball game, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Bystanders had to administer CPR before Woods was transported to nearby Henry Ford Hospital, according to the report.
The news outlet quoted Detroit Public Schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti as saying that Woods was on life support.
The Detroit News reported Woods “took himself out of the game, then collapsed near the bench.”
The recent surge in the number of apparently healthy young people suddenly suffering cardiac episodes has sparked a lot of conversation on social media.
Some have used the recent examples to call for more automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, to be made widely available.
Retired firefighter/paramedic Dan Morhrbacher went on Twitter to make that plea, using the example of Williams’ episode as evidence.
“Because of a certified athletic trainer this 8th grade basketball player will go home to his family,” Mohrbacher wrote. “[W]ho knows, he could be a future NBA star!
“We need certified ATs and an AED to the patients side within 3 minutes at every game and practice.”
Because of a certified athletic trainer this 8th grade basketball player will go home to his family…who knows, he could be a future NBA star!
We need certified ATs and an AED to the patients side within 3 minutes at every game and practice.
https://t.co/x0U4thg2uc— Dan Mohrbacher (@AED_Advocates) February 1, 2023
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