COLUMBIANA, Ohio (WKBN) – A local middle schooler was back in the classroom this week, thanks to some quick thinking and an AED, after suffering a cardiac arrest last month.
Jacob Burley doesn’t remember much about December 17 but he’s thankful to have people around him who do.
“I remember stopping and saying, ‘I’m losing my vision,'” Burley said.
The eighth grader at Crestview Middle School was playing a game of pick-up basketball in the school gym just days before Christmas break when the unthinkable happened.
Burley suffered a cardiac arrest, collapsing on the gym floor.
“You could tell by the way he was laying, he just collapsed. So as soon as I saw how he was laying, I knew that this was different,” said Ellie Thompson, the school district’s nurse.
His teachers and Thompson rushed to his aid, performing CPR and utilizing an AED that was just down the hall.
“The whole thing felt like forever but it wasn’t. It all went so efficiently and everybody worked so well together,” Thompson said.
EMTs took Burley to Akron Children’s Hospital, where doctors fitted him with a defibrillator as they continue to work to find out what caused the episode.
“He’s the luckiest kid in Northeast Ohio,” said Dr. John Clark, with the Arythmia Center at Akron Children’s Hospital. “He got the best Christmas present anybody could ask for in that he is home, healthy and opening Christmas presents on Christmas Day when one week before, he arrested on the basketball court.”
Doctors credit Thompson and school administrators for quickly jumping into action, saying any delay could have led to a far different outcome.
“He didn’t even go onto a ventilator. He’s talking to EMS as he’s being brought in here because things were done so efficiently,” Clark said.
Unbeknownst to Thompson, she actually began organizing a CPR training before Burley’s arrest. She never imagined she would be performing the real thing just weeks later on one of her students.
“There’s a lot of things that were an odd twist of fate in all of this, which I just think just shows that it all was meant to be and everybody did their part, did their job and it led to such a positive outcome of Jacob being safe,” Thompson said.
On Friday, Burley was back in school, reuniting with those who helped him last month.
“The first time I saw him, it was very emotional. Just seeing him now is like, it’s awesome,” Thompson said.
Burley likely won’t be able to play football this fall but the people around him are just thankful he’s back to his normal self.
“It’s a little disappointing but at the end of the day, I’m here,” Burley said.
“He’s back to his ornery self and, as a mom, as just a small community of people, it’s just amazing to see him and that he’s back to himself. It’s awesome,” Thompson said.