An Oklahoma high school basketball player has been deemed a hero after he saved the life of an opponent when they collapsed on the court.
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According to local media outlet KOCO-5, the medical emergency occurred during a basketball tournament at Mulhall-Orlando High School in Orlando, Oklahoma, on Jan. 9.
Randy Vitales, a 16-year-old sophomore at Dover High School, went into cardiac arrest three minutes into the game against Life Christian Academy. Magnus Miller, an 18-year-old player on the opposing team, quickly rushed to Vitales’ aid.
Miller, a trained lifeguard, used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to revive Vitales. He also led the responding staff in performing CPR. Just after the AED restored Vitales’ heartbeat, One of the staff members performed CPR on the teen for about 20 minutes until paramedics arrived on the scene.
The Guthrie Fire Department stated that Miller “without a shadow of a doubt” saved Vitales’ life. Speaking to the media outlet about the situation, Miller said he didn’t even think before he rushed to help the other high school basketball player.
“I didn’t have any second thoughts about it,” Miller explained. “I just jumped in and took control.”
“It’s weird hearing someone say you saved their life,” he continued. “But it wasn’t really me. It was God just being there for me and him. Obviously, I didn’t go there to play basketball that day.”
The Other High School Basketball Player Recovered At Oklahoma City’s Children’s Hospital
Following the incident, Vitales was taken to Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. Dover Public Schools issued a statement about his condition.
“Randy is undergoing several tests and will be moved to ICU,” the statement read. “Doctors did say that the quick response by our coaches and the training they received is probably what saved his life. Counselors and some area pastors were at the school when our teams returned to talk and pray with our students.”
The school district then thanked those concerned after the medical emergency.
“We thank you for your prayers and ask our Dover Community to continue to pray for Randy, his family, and the Dover students and staff,” the district added.
Dover Superintendent Jay Wood also issued a statement to KOCO-5 calling Vitales a “rock star.”
“As my coaches were administering the AED and CPR, he was the calm and reassuring voice that they were doing everything right,” Wood stated. “There were several heroes and a guardian angel in that gym that morning.”
Vitales was since been taken off a ventilator and is breathing on his own.