Woman saves teen’s life after he suffered cardiac arrest while playing baseball

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) - An Alabama mother’s nightmare turned into an unexpected blessing when another mother stepped in to save her son’s life when he suffered a medical emergency.

Evan Tucker is a 15-year-old boy who can’t seem to spend enough time on the baseball field. His mother, Samantha Tucker, said she loves watching him play.

“He’s tried other sports, football, basketball, but has always landed on baseball,” Samantha Tucker said. “It’s always been interesting for him and he has a lot of fun doing it.”

Evan just finished his freshman year with the Pinson Valley High School baseball team in Jefferson County. When the school season was over, he said he wanted to try out for a travel ball team.

When Easter weekend rolled around, it was Evan’s time to make it happen.

However, in the middle of doing drills, while Evan was standing near the outfield behind second base, the unimaginable happened.

“I guess I had thought he had got hit by a ball,” Samantha Tucker said. “I jumped up and I heard somebody say, ‘He’s having a seizure,’ so I took off running.”

Evan did not suffer a seizure, however. The young baseball player was down in the grass experiencing cardiac arrest.

“It was sheer panic, like shock actually,” Samantha Tucker said. “I didn’t know what to do, I just kept talking to him.”

Suddenly, a stranger rushed to the outfield, where she saw Evan turning blue just before starting R.

That stranger was Johnette Wilmot, who is also a mother.

“I learned R in high school when I was 17 and I’ve never had to use it in 40 years,” she said.

Wilmot had been at the ballpark to watch her 11-year-old son Phoenix try out for the summer league team.

When she saw Evan fall, she ran to him and said she performed R for about eight minutes until an ambulance arrived.

Her knees were rubbed raw as she hummed a BeeGees song known for having a tempo that matched the recommended pace for chest compressions during R.

“I just kept humming ‘Stayin Alive,’” Wilmot said.

When emergency responders arrived, Evan was taken away in the ambulance with his mother holding his hand right beside him and praying.

“The entire ride in the ambulance I was saying, ‘Jesus, I trust in you,’” Samantha Tucker said. “I had a peace about me because somehow, I knew that he was going to be OK.”

When Evan got to Children’s Hospital, his mother said he had to be shocked because of his heart’s condition.

The teen stayed in a coma for a few days. Fortunately, he is making improvements and was itted to inpatient rehab.

Evan has been able to walk without any help and talk again. His recovery will be a long road for him to walk, but his mother said he will make it.

“Miracles happen,” Samantha Tucker said. “If it hadn’t been for Johnette, if it hadn’t have been for the Lord, my son would not be here today.”

Both mothers are now urging others to learn R so more people’s lives can be saved during medical emergencies.

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