First responders help save teenage boy’s life after he collapses at gym

First responders help save teenage boy’s life after he collapses at gym.

In Grand Prairie, a suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a dispatch call was received shortly after 1:30 p.m. on July 7, 2023, after paramedics Boyd Hansbro and Gabriel Morales had just completed transporting a patient to the hospital.

Someone had passed out at the gym, according to the call.

“In 99 out of 100 cases, the person who passes out is someone who overexerted themselves while lifting,” Boyd said. Thus, it doesn’t cause us to become alarmed.

Boyd’s service area was not where the emergency was. However, Boyd and Gabriel—who are employed by the Grand Prairie Fire Department—went to the 24 Hour Fitness where the individual had passed out because they were on the nearest ambulance.

Boyd received updated notes from dispatch while the ambulance was on its way, indicating that the patient had stopped breathing. Boyd realized right away that this was a serious situation.

First to arrive on the scene was a fire truck. Chris Sieg, Pat Schuster, Thomas Haire, and Brent Flath, the first responders on the truck, had begun CPR on the 17-year-old Black patient, Jaylen Floyd. Using a defibrillator, the first responders also shocked him twice. In addition, they gave him epinephrine and used an airway device to open his airway. Boyd and Gabriel were on the scene in no time. Boyd was the primary paramedic.

Regarding the EMS response, Boyd remarked, “It turns into business.” We are aware of what must be done. And that really isn’t dependent on the environment. We are aware of what needs to be done in order to handle the situation as effectively as possible.

Boyd’s job was to learn as much as he could from Jaylen’s friends about what had happened. They informed him that Jaylen seemed to have been sleeping on the curl bar. But when a neighboring gym patron glanced at Jaylen, she saw that he wasn’t breathing.

Boyd discovered that the gym member had begun CPR even before emergency personnel showed up. This lay responder, according to Boyd, was the situation’s unsung hero.

Boyd commented, “It seems like they were doing an amazing job” with the lay responder. “That individual most likely went above and beyond to ensure that Jaylen had a positive outcome.”

After roughly fifteen minutes on the scene, Jaylen was taken by ambulance to Medical Center of Arlington by the first responder team. Boyd stated that when Jaylen was in the ambulance, they also had to shock him.

Boyd was giving Jaylen bag-valve-mask ventilations about a minute away from the hospital when something unexpected happened.

Boyd remembered, “He sucked that bag completely out of air.” It was a very hopeful moment for me. “Man, he is going to make it,” I thought to myself.

Boyd said that, in his experience with bag-valve-mask ventilation, he had never seen a patient take a single, deep breath as Jaylen did.

After spending a few hours in the hospital at Medical Center of Arlington, Jaylen was moved to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit for five days.

According to Jaylen’s mother Tracy Floyd, the cause of Jaylen’s cardiac arrest was determined by the doctors to be long QT syndrome. He currently takes betablockers and has an implanted subcutaneous cardioverter defibrillator. He is well and in good health, she said.

She remarked, “He is doing absolutely amazing.” “We were extremely fortunate.”

Jaylen, a senior in high school, participated in Timberview High School’s band as an alto saxophonist. On May 24, 2024, he will graduate and enroll in Oklahoma State University’s undergraduate program.

Tracy remarked, “He really is a good kid.” “He hasn’t caused me any trouble at all in his time as a teenager, so I’m definitely grateful for that.”

The group of first responders who treated Jaylen met with him, Tracy, and the rest of their family. They gave each other hugs. Tracy expressed her eternal gratitude to the emergency medical services personnel for their prompt and compassionate response.

She declared, “A human’s life cannot be replaced.” “There aren’t enough hugs, money, or gratitude for you. It is extremely valuable. I’m really appreciative. I am incredibly appreciative of the care they gave and the selflessness of the first team to continue responding even though it wasn’t their call to answer. I therefore give them credit for the work they did before the second team showed up.

Tracy is also appreciative of the lay responder, a complete stranger, who began CPR on Jaylen right away. According to her, the lay responder’s actions highlight the value of lay responder CPR education, particularly in light of the finding that Black children are less likely to receive it from lay responders. The American Heart Association’s premier journal, Circulation, published a study in 2022 that revealed Black and Hispanic children are less likely than White children to receive bystander CPR during an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

In the United States, EMS Week is observed annually. EMS Week this year commemorates the tradition’s half-century anniversary. EMS Week is a celebration of the devotion and hard work of EMS personnel. It’s an opportunity to thank EMS personnel for their life-saving efforts.

Boyd expressed his gratitude for Jaylen’s good health and said he will keep in mind during EMS Week how hard he and the other first responders had to work to save his life. Boyd added that he believes people should learn CPR instead of relying solely on movie CPR, which frequently depicts the technique incorrectly because the rescuer is not applying enough pressure.

“Save a life by learning the fundamentals of just chest compressions,”

Learn these important skills here at CPR Works!

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