'Terrifying moment in time': How an AED saved Kilbourne soccer player Canen Dickman
In the middle of a summer soccer conditioning session at Worthington Kilbourne High School on July 7, Canen Dickman collapsed.
Dickman, who will be a freshman, was running the third lap of his second mile at Kilbourne's Ron Hopper Stadium before he fell to the ground without warning. Soccer coach Jon Sprunger ran to Dickman, who had stopped breathing and had no pulse.
After instructing older soccer players to call 911 and telling assistant coach Patrick Fagan to grab the automated external defibrillator inside the building, Sprunger administered four rounds of CPR. He later used the AED to reestablish Dickman's pulse and breathing before Dickman was transported to Riverside Methodist Hospital.
Sprunger described it as a "terrifying moment in time," but Pamela Dickman knows it was also a crucial moment for her son.
"We were so lucky that the coaches were right there," she said in a Facebook video. "They did what they needed to do. They knew what to do. They literally saved his life. He wouldn’t be here otherwise."
Athletic director Jeff Todd said all of Kilbourne's coaches are trained in how to handle such an event.
"You just hope that when the time comes and there is an emergency like that, that they actually respond accordingly, which they did," Todd said. "I’m really proud of the way they responded and how they stayed calm under the craziness of the situation."
Situations such as Canen Dickman's are why the Ohio High School Athletic Association requires each school to have an emergency action plan.
EAPs are usually written by athletic trainers or the organizations that employ them, such as OhioHealth and Ohio State. Kilbourne, like many other high schools, has EAPs that are unique to different locations on campus, including the main gym and the baseball field.
The OHSAA also highly recommends (but does not yet require) having AEDs available in each building. Each coach is trained to use the devices as part of their mandated CPR and Lindsay's Law training that covers sudden cardiac arrest.
"I told my fellow coaches to take the training seriously," Sprunger said. "Envision yourself. What would you do in this situation? I used to think, 'OK, if this happens, am I going to panic?' But I think the idea that I visualized myself carrying out these actions almost allowed me to experience it before I had to do it."
The Ohio House recently passed a bill that would require schools and public recreational facilities to have AEDs. The Ohio Senate and Gov. Mike DeWine must sign off for it to become law.
In addition, in the latest state budget, lawmakers earmarked up to $598,000 per year to educate high school students in CPR and use of AEDs.
At Kilbourne, during summer conditioning sessions or organized team workouts, coaches are required to be in attendance, but trainers are not always on hand, according to Todd. Each of the school's current AEDs are located inside the building. Trainers always carry one when they are present.
Given that the school's stadium gates are open to the general public during the day, Todd said Kilbourne is in the process of adding an AED at the stadium that is accessible to everyone.
While there are still a number of tests being run to find out what happened, Todd said Dickman is recovering and "making progress."
In his own way, Sprunger is also recovering, and he's encouraging coaches and teachers to remain prepared.
"From a person who's coached for a long time, had this played out in a different way ... I don't know how I'd respond to it," Sprunger said. "I think it could have been devastating, absolutely devastating for a number of people. But here we are talking about all the good that came from it, which is a moment to rejoice."
A GoFundMe has been set up to support Dickman and his family.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How an AED saved Worthington Kilbourne High School soccer player
