Pennsylvania athletic trainer saves teen’s life at lacrosse camp

Article reposted from The Morning Call
Author: Sarah M. Wojcik

It’s a scene all athletic trainers and coaching staffs train for, but one they never hope to see: an athlete collapses, unresponsive.

During a lacrosse camp Sunday at DeSales University, a 17-year-old boy from Montvale, N.J., fell in a heap on the ground. Staff rushed to his side; among them Catasauqua Area School District athletic trainer John Capozzolo.

He saw the teen collapse face-first from the corner of his eye. He and a colleague tore off the teen’s helmet and pads. Immediately, he could tell the teen’s breathing had stopped and his pulse was undetectable. Capozzolo wasted no time.

“I kind of just went into a zone,” the trainer said Friday. “I heard nothing around me other than the people right next to me. Everything in my head was playing in order, like in a book.”

Capozzolo, in his 13th year at Catasauqua , was at the event to help with staff shortages. He started CPR and delegated. He asked Matthew Brancaccio, head lacrosse coach at DeSales, to fetch an automated external defibrillator and had another trainer call 911.

When Brancaccio returned with the device, Capozzolo opened the teen’s jersey and hooked him up. The AED administered a single shock and moments later his pulse and breathing returned, weakly but gaining strength.

In the next five to six minutes, Capozzolo said the teen opened his eyes. Though the boy was disoriented, Capozzolo was grateful to see the teenager conscious by the time the ambulance arrived and rushed him to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.

The teen is now at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York City, according to Brancaccio. He said doctors are still trying to pinpoint what caused the collapse.

The boy’s parents are grateful Capozzolo and others were nearby when their son collapsed, Brancaccio said.

The severity of the emergency Sunday was a first for many of the athletic staff on hand, according to Brancaccio.

“He was awesome,” Brancaccio said of Capozzolo. “He was amazing. He saved that young man’s life.”

Everyone reacted just the way they needed to, Brancaccio said.

“Our adrenaline kind of kicks in and the training kicks in,” the coach said. “Everyone, thank God, reacted really calm and quickly. Time is of the essence in these situations.”

Capozzolo said he felt an eerie combination of numbness and vigilance for the remainder of the camp. The emotions of the moment hit later.

“It was one of those things where you don’t know what to expect any more after something like that happens,” Capozzolo said. “Every movement, I was more on my toes. I was high-alert.”

It wasn’t until he got word that evening that the 17-year-old was in stable condition that Capozzolo said he was able to relax.

“At that point, you just become emotionally attached because of the situation,” he said.

The opportunity for that peace is precious, according to Gregory Janik, president of the Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association. Janik, who called to congratulate Capozzolo as soon as he heard, said many such cases end tragically.

“John is going to be forever tied to this family,” Janik said. “He did what every athletic trainer is taught to do.”

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association uses ATs Care, a peer-to-peer support program for trainers dealing with the aftermath of a crisis incident, to offer support.

Janik remembers the Sept. 25, 2015 death of Warren Hills Regional High School quarterback Evan Murray as an incident that shook first responders on the field. A lacerated spleen turned fatal on a typical football play and Janik said some trainers struggled.

“It’s hard when they don’t make it,” he said.

Efforts to make sure more young people survive cardiac emergencies at schools and athletic events has been a mission for the parents of Gregory Moyer, an Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg basketball player who died from an undiagnosed heart condition in 2000. John and Rachel Moyer have been at the forefront of a push for more defibrillators at schools and events to prevent another tragedy.

Capozzolo said he hopes the DeSales incident reminds schools and athletic programs how valuable it is to have trainers at the ready. When he returned to his job Monday, Capozzolo said he began double-checking Catasauqua’s emergency plans to make sure they’re as airtight as what he saw at DeSales.

“If it’s life and death, then it’s a matter of a couple minutes,” said the father of three. “You can never be too prepared.”