Coaches’ training in CPR saves life of Simi wrestler
By Rhiannon Potkey, [email protected]
January 1, 2005
Royal High wrestling coach Paul Mole can’t erase the image from his mind.
One of his wrestlers was lying lifeless on the mat, face turning purple, mouth open, eyes rolled back in his head.
“I have never seen a person gradually dying, “said Mole. “But that is what he was doing right there in front of us. I am pretty positive if it had happened anywhere else, he would have been gone.”
But David Talley, 17, was fortunate enough to have been in the presence of two coaches trained in CPR when he collapsed and stopped breathing after a match Wednesday afternoon at Upland High School in Upland.
Mole and Atascadero High coach Chris Ferree resuscitated the senior from Royal High in Simi Valley before the paramedics arrived to stabilize him and airlift him to Arrrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.
After spending the rest of Wednesday in the emergency room listed in critical condition and Thursday in the intensive care unit, Talley was discharged Friday afternoon, according to hospital officials. He was resting at his parents’ Simi Valley home Friday night.
“I think the lord saved him in answer to prayer. I really do, “said Talley’s mother, Irene. “We feel like we’ve had a miracle.”
Coma lasted 20 hours
The hospital couldn’t provide details on what led to Talley’s collapse, and Mole said the doctor on call Wednesday night didn’t know what made Talley’s heart stop. Talley’s mother said he was in a coma for more than 20 hours.
The incident occurred during Talley’s 171-pound weight class match against Eisenhower’s Steve Gudry at the Upland Black Watch Tournament.
Trailing by two points in the final period, Talley went for a double leg takedown to try to extend the match into overtime. During the move, both wrestlers hit the mat and rolled a short distance, according to Mole.
The referee stopped the match, but Talley remained on his hands and knees. As he tried to get up, he collapsed onto the mat.
Mole, who initially believed Talley was just tired, knew something was seriously wrong when the wrestler began to breath erratically.
Mole quickly dialed 911 on his cell phone. “Ironically, they put me on hold, “said Mole. “It was just terrible.”
When Royal wrestler Eric Blackwell noticed Talley had stopped breathing, Mole and Ferree rolled Talley onto his back and checked for a pulse.
“Nothing was beating, and his chest wasn’t rising, “said Mole.
Mole and Ferree, who had never met before the tournament, immediately started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. With Talley’s father, John, holding his son’s head, Mole performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and Ferree performed chest compressions.
Teammates cried, prayed
As they worked feverishly to keep Talley alive, the room fell silent. Many of Talley’s teammates gathered around the mat crying and praying while Talley’s mother stood and watched Mole and Ferree trying to save her son.
“I was frantic. It was pretty frightening to see him there. He looked gone, “Irene Talley said Friday. “It is really wonderful things turned out so well. We are still pinching ourselves that he is OK.”
After what his mother said was seven to eight minutes of CPR, Talley began breathing on his own. The paramedics arrived soon after.
“I was very scared. I thought we were going to lose him right there, “said Mole. “It’s every coach’s worst nightmare. It was just the scariest thing I have ever experienced in my life.”
While taking the CPR certification course each year can seem tedious, Mole is extremely thankful it is required of every coach in California.
“You never think you are going to use it, “said Mole.
“We really didn’t even have to think about what we had to do. It was just in our subconscious because we had done it so many times in class.”
During the harrowing ordeal, Mole viewed himself more as a father of two young sons, ages 1 and 3, than as a coach.
“I was thinking if this were my kid I hope someone would have the wherewithal to be able to do this, “said Mole.
“The fact that you are giving CPR to someone’s child makes you feel a little different because you know how special children are. If Dave had not made it, it would have been crushing on his parents.”
But Talley did make it, and it provided him with the greatest New Year’s gift of all — a new lease on life.
Wrestling Gear
