Basketball coach saves student with CPR and an AED

By: Act Foundation via Youtube.

The heavy thud echoed across the gym at Ottawa’s St. Mother Teresa High School. Zach, a Grade 10 student trying out for the basketball team, had collapsed on the floor. That’s when Coach Mike’s lifesaving skills sprang into action.

“My instincts kicked in. It was the [ACT] training,” says Mike. “I asked my Assistant Coach, Yvan, to call 911 and clear students out of the gym,” says Mike. “I assessed Zach and started CPR.”

“Coach told me to get the defibrillator right away” recalls Zach’s friend Malacki. “I ran fast, my friend’s life depended on it. I gave the AED to Coach. He put the pads on Zach and followed the instructions. He knew what to do,” adds Malacki.

Zach underwent open-heart surgery at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario for a defect unknown since birth.

“I can tell you as a mom, receiving the phone call was nothing short of traumatic. But to hear over and over in the days that followed from paramedics, ER physicians, and the team of cardiologists, that had the coach not responded so quickly performing CPR and using the AED, Zach would not be with us today,” says Stephanie. “We are very, very thankful that Coach Mike knew CPR, and that the school had an AED and the Coach was trained in how to use it. That is what made the difference for Zach.”

The ACT Foundation set up the High School CPR and AED Program at St. Mother Teresa High School in 1998 for CPR and in 2009 for AED. With the support of community partners, ACT donated an AED to St. Mother Teresa and Ottawa high schools in 2009. Looking forward to being cleared to return to the court, Zach’s grateful there was not only an AED at his school but people around him who knew how to save a life. “Most people think only older people get heart attacks, but look at me, I am living proof it can happen to anyone,” he says. And yes, he made the team.