Middle school player dies during game

[All_Heart]

Middle School Basketball Player Dies During Game

DECATUR, Ga. -- An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death of a 14-year old middle school basketball player who collapsed and died during a game on Saturday.

Joshua Thomas died while playing for the Shamrock Middle School team. Some witnesses said that Thomas appeared to have some kind of seizure during the game at Bethune Middle School. He then slumped to the floor and never regained consciousness.

A nurse who was at the game rushed on to the court and performed CPR in an effort to get Thomas breathing again. But her efforts were unsuccessful. Emergency medical technicians called and rushed the boy to DeKalb Medical Center where he died.

Two witnesses told WSB-TV Channel 2 that it took more than 30 minutes for paramedics to get to the school.

Christie Windle, the nurse who performed CPR, complained that there was no defibrillator at the school. She says one of the devices might have helped save Thomas' life.

The teen's mother and two sisters were in the crowd when he collapsed.

Another article said:

With his mother watching the basketball game, 14-year-old Joshua Thomas took a fall and banged his head on the floor at Bethune Middle School in Decatur on Saturday.


The Shamrock Middle School player was knocked unconscious and stopped breathing. Several medical professionals at the game started CPR on the boy, said DeKalb County schools spokesman Dale Davis.


Davis said Joshua started breathing again, but his breathing stopped once he reached DeKalb medical facility at Hillandale.


He was pronounced dead about 1:30 p.m.
"It was a routine basketball game, and the child fell as a result of participating in it," Davis said.
He said he did not know whether the boy just collapsed or fell due to a foul during the game. "He didn't recover."


The cause of death was unknown Sunday night and school officials hope to learn more pending a report by the medical examiner's office, Davis said.


The boy's death has shocked and alarmed Shamrock Middle School parents and children.
Shanda Maiolo, a member of the school's parent-teacher association, said her son, Lake, turned pale when he saw the report on the news.
He said he couldn't believe it. He had just seen Joshua at the school's basketball pep rally last week. He was a nice kid, the child told his mother.
"He's kind of freaked out about it," said Shanda Maiolo. "There's been a lot of talk in the neighborhood, and a lot of concern."


The tragedy was even more unsettling, she said, because the child died during a sport she doesn't consider very physical. It made her more worried about her 13-year-old son playing soccer.


She said she is going to review the rules and safety of the game with her son. "It's just frightening," she said.


She said she expects parents at the school will reach out to the Thomas family and help them in any way possible.


Maiolo said she worries about the reaction of children at the school today, as they come in and hear the news of their schoolmate's death.
Extra school counselors will be on hand, officials said.
"It's just heartbreaking," Maiolo said.
"He's a year older than my son."

[Back In The Saddle]

It is always sad when something like this happens.

That said, is it just me, or does the second article make you wanna smack the reporter that burned half his column inches reporting on the reaction of some almost completely unrelated PTA mom? I guess he, the reporter, couldn't let the sadness of the story speak for itself, he's gotta find some drama queen mom to really give it a "human interest angle." Pathetic.

[Jurassic Referee]

That is just a damn shame. The worst part was that his mother and sisters were watching. My heart goes out to them; that's just horrible.

[FishinRef]

My prayers will go out for that family.

[TimTaylor]

Very sad! My prayers go out to his family and friends.

Curiously, there appear to be major discrepancies in the two versions of the story presented in the different articles. Perhaps the autopsy results will shed some light on what actually happened.

[Ignats75]

There has been a rather ineffective grass roots push to put defibrillators in every school gym in Ohio. I don't know where that push is as of now, but here's another reminder that no matter the cost, its less than a 14 year old child's life.

[BayStateRef]

Originally Posted by Ignats75

There has been a rather ineffective grass roots push to put defibrillators in every school gym in Ohio. I don't know where that push is as of now, but here's another reminder that no matter the cost, its less than a 14 year old child's life.

While we're at it, let's put one in every Denny's. And every McDonald's. And every church. And every automobile. And then....let's put one in....

I presume the Ohio schools are as large as those around here. And I presume that they are "locked" except for the gym on weekends when the youth leagues play. So how many defibs do we need? One for the gym; one for the auditorium; one for the cafeteria. Then one for each floor. And then....make sure to have a paramedic or RN or EMT or someone proficient enough to use it in an emergency.

I don't believe the answer to this tragedy is defibs in the school. Sometimes tragedies occur. We don't always know what's happening with a human heart. Let's not pretend we can prevent every death, "if only....."

[Ignats75]

Comparing a gym to a Denny's is hardly apples to oranges. There have been too many stories of kids dropping dead from hidden heart problems.

[bigdogrunnin]

FIVE young athletes died in the Houston, Texas area earlier this fall in a period of THREE weeks. In all five cases, there was found to be a defect in the heart that basically amounted to a "ticking timebomb." Would defibrilators have helped them, probably not. HOWEVER, I am also aware of no fewer than FIVE instances in Southeast Texas where athletes were revived using the defibrilators, and went on to live happy, healthly, and athletic lives.

Personally, I don't think it is too much to ask to have at least ONE available on every campus in America. Are they expensive, YES, are they worth it . . . I say YES!

Here in New York, schools have been required to have an AED on site since 2002.
Under Public Health Law 3000-b all school districts, BOCES, county vocational education and extension boards, and charter schools must provide and maintain on-site, in each instructional school facility, at least one functional automated external defibrillator (AED) for use during emergencies. The legislation also requires public school officials and administrators responsible for such school facilities to ensure the presence of at least one staff person who is trained in the operation and use of an AED.

Obviously it's not going to help all the time but it certainly won't help if it isn't there. We have them mounted right outside the gyms.

[TimTaylor]

And AED's aren't that hard to use. Red Cross now includes the training as a part of their CPR course - at least in this neck of the woods.......

They are so easy to use that anyone with just a little common sense could open one up and use it without ever seeing one first. They show you where to put the patches and they won't 'fire' unless the persons condition warrants it. They are well worth the minor expense to put one in each school or community center. Many can be purchased for less than $2000.

[Texref]

Originally Posted by BayStateRef

While we're at it, let's put one in every Denny's. And every McDonald's. And every church. And every automobile. And then....let's put one in....

I presume the Ohio schools are as large as those around here. And I presume that they are "locked" except for the gym on weekends when the youth leagues play. So how many defibs do we need? One for the gym; one for the auditorium; one for the cafeteria. Then one for each floor. And then....make sure to have a paramedic or RN or EMT or someone proficient enough to use it in an emergency.

I don't believe the answer to this tragedy is defibs in the school. Sometimes tragedies occur. We don't always know what's happening with a human heart. Let's not pretend we can prevent every death, "if only....."

Using that logic we shouldn't have fire extinguishers anywhere either, afterall, they can't prevent every fire. The more that you can do to protect the athletes, or help to revive them after they collapse, the better off everyone will be. AED's are still kind of expensive ($1500+) but that cost is well worth it if it is used just once to help save a life.

Here is a direct quote from the American Heart Association on AEDs and their use:

About 250,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest. Defibrillation is the only known therapy to treat an individual in cardiac arrest. The delivering of an electrical shock to the heart can restore the heart's normal rhythm. However, it must be done within minutes of the arrest. For every minute that passes without defibrillation, a victim's chance of survival decreases by seven to 10 percent. After as few as 10 minutes, very few resuscitation attempts are successful

In addition to athletes dying (sp?) on the court, you also have to think about officials. In the North Texas area alone, at least TWO officials have died in the last year while on the court working games. Could an AED have saved them, I don't know, but it definately would not have hurt their chances.

Give at least the athletic department an AED. From there, you can look to add additional AEDs based on the size of the school and the population of the school, just like you do for fire extinguishers. Give it 10 years, and everywhere that you find a fire extinguisher, you will find an AED.

[tjones1]

Simply a sad story... that's all that needs to be said!

[Adam]

Originally Posted by PYRef

They are so easy to use that anyone with just a little common sense could open one up and use it without ever seeing one first. They show you where to put the patches and they won't 'fire' unless the persons condition warrants it. They are well worth the minor expense to put one in each school or community center. Many can be purchased for less than $2000.

They're virtually idiot-proof. Athletic departments should have them; and coaches should be required to know how to use them.