Student Revived By SRO, Nurse After His Heart Stopped
The nurse applied an automatic external defibrillator while the school resource officer continued with chest compressions.
A Florida school resource officer and nurse saved the life of a student after his heart stopped during a dodgeball game.
Eighth-grader M.J. Crumity was playing dodgeball in his gym class at Madison County Central School on Oct. 1 when he collapsed on a bench and went into cardiac arrest, CNN reports.
School Resource Officer Sergeant Joey Knight was preparing to direct school traffic when he got a call that a student was having a seizure.
“I bolted to my truck or my patrol vehicle and drove down to the gym to find him unresponsive lying on the gym floor,” recalled Knight.
As Knight began performing CPR, school nurse Annie Dyke arrived with an automatic external defibrillator (AED).
As Dyke applied the AED, Knight continued with chest compressions. Crumity became responsive and was transported to the hospital.
Crumity has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heart condition in which the heart muscle is too thick, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood.
Crumity’s mother, Stacy Davis, said she first started seeing signs of her son having difficulty breathing when he was 3-years-old. In 2008, he had open-heart surgery to install a pacemaker and cut out muscle around the heart. Until that day, the pacemaker had done its job.
“For some reason, it didn’t shock him back when he needed it,” said Stacy. “I can say if it wasn’t for them, he would not be alive. Even the doctor says the reactionary time was what made a difference.”
Just six days later, Crumity returned to school with a reprogrammed pacemaker and adjusted medication.
Knight said he’s “proud to see M.J. walking around,” and he feels an urge to check in on him every day.
Davis said the check-ins are helping her shy son start to open up more.
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