-
Paolo Uggetti, ESPN
Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris happened to be in the right place at the right time this past weekend, as he helped save a child who was drowning in a Las Vegas pool.
Morris was at the Encore Las Vegas with his family when he saw a young boy drowning in the hotel pool. According to Morris’ wife, Nicole, who posted about the situation on her Instagram page Wednesday, the 3-year-old boy had no pulse when he was taken out of the pool by his father and brought over to a lifeguard.
As the lifeguard began performing CPR compressions, Morris said he rushed over to see how he could help.
“I saw people calling 911 so my first question was, where is the AED?” Morris told ESPN on Wednesday, referring to an automatic external defibrillator, which Morris then ran to retrieve. “When I got back, we had a doctor on site that was able to start the compressions. I was able to hand the AED to him, get it open for him, put the pads on the child, and he ended up being OK.”
Morris credited the Rams’ recent CPR, AED and first aid training facilitated by Reggie Scott, the team’s vice president of sports medicine and performance, for helping him be aware of proper protocols and knowing the importance of an AED.
When an individual is experiencing cardiac arrest, an AED analyzes the heart’s rhythm and delivers an appropriate electrical shock to restore the heart to its applicable rhythm. AEDs have become more prevalent after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during a game in January. Hamlin himself spoke at a recent event on Capitol Hill in support of the Access to AEDs Act.
Morris mentioned how Hamlin’s situation, as well as the recent tragic drowning of Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett‘s 2-year-old daughter, has helped increase awareness and preparedness among coaches and players for those unforeseen moments, such as the one Morris was witness to in Las Vegas.
According to Nicole Morris’ post, the boy her husband helped save was discharged from the hospital 24 hours later.
“I’m just thankful I knew what to do,” Raheem Morris said. “You just never know when you’re going to need that stuff.”
ESPN NFL reporter Lindsey Thiry contributed to this report.
