COLORADO SPRINGS, Alba (KRDO) — For one Colorado Springs household, the Monday Evening Soccer sport that culminated in a participant’s collapse on the sphere introduced again contemporary and painful reminiscences.
On October 17, 2023, on the Junior Varsity soccer sport between Liberty Excessive and Thomas Jefferson Excessive, freshman heart Jordan O’Connell fainted. He had a coronary heart assault minutes earlier than the sport.
The boy’s father, Jake O’Connell, was sitting within the stands. When Jake noticed Jordan fall to the bottom, he thought his 15-year-old son was useless. Jordan regarded like he was having a seizure and was having hassle respiratory.
As Buffalo Invoice’s Safety Damar Hamlin did in Cincinnati on Monday night time, trainers started taking life-saving measures in Jordan.
“When Damar Hamlin collapsed, Jordan collapsed the identical means. It was like a deja vu,” Jake instructed KRDO NewsChannel 13. and adrenaline.”
“Appears like I used to be going out on the sphere, I handed out and my coronary heart stopped,” Jordan mentioned.
“It was the scariest factor. I actually watched my son die on the sphere,” Jake mentioned.
Jordan mentioned that after he handed out, the Liberty Excessive Athletics coach lower off his jersey and pads and commenced performing CPR.
Jordan was taken to Colorado Springs district hospital by paramedics.
As with Cincinnati, the remainder of the sport was canceled after Jordan collapsed.
Jordan was later recognized with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. His situation was unknown to Jordan and his household earlier than he collapsed onto the soccer discipline.
“Jordan has a giant coronary heart,” Jordan’s mom, Brettney O’Connell, instructed KRDO. “The left aspect of his coronary heart is enlarged. That is what triggered it.”
“I felt so grateful and I felt so indignant,” Jordan mentioned. “My future has modified. My entire life has modified.”
“He might not play soccer once more. We simply do not know,” mentioned Jordan’s mom.
Jordan says he feels sorry for Hamlin and his household, particularly because it was televised and the whole United States noticed it.
“I can solely think about his household residing now,” O’Connell mentioned.
The 15-year-old soccer participant has a defibrillator positioned in his coronary heart to assist along with his coronary heart situation and takes beta-blockers daily.
The highschool freshman mentioned that he has not misplaced hope and is assured that he’ll play soccer once more.
#Damar #Hamlin #affair #mirrors #collapse #Colorado #Springs #excessive #faculty #soccer #due #coronary heart #situation
