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Parkland Praying: Teacher used training to aid Khalid Prince until EMS arrived
Journal Photo by David Rolfe
Parkland varsity-basketball coach Roscoe Turner (left), junior-varsity coach Keith McInnis and "first responder" Tara Cleveland discuss the player's collapse.
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Published: December 4, 2008
Updated:
For 10 years, Tara Cleveland has been a "first responder" -- trained to help in case of an emergency during school sports.
Tuesday night was the first time that Cleveland, a science teacher at Parkland High School, had to use that training, she said.
Khalid Prince, 15, collapsed after making a three-pointer at the start of the second quarter of Parkland's junior-varsity basketball game against North Surry High School.
A crowd of about 200 people hushed. School officials called 911 and notified Cleveland, who was already in the gym. She treated Prince until paramedics arrived.
Prince, a freshman who is the JV basketball team's starting point guard, was still in critical condition this morning at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Cleveland checked Prince's airways, breathing and circulation before beginning to administer CPR. She also checked to see whether he would respond to her voice -- all part of emergency procedures, she said.
"You do what you know you need to do," she said.
First responders in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools have been certified in CPR and defibrillator usage and have had additional training to handle sports injuries, said Greg Gentry, the athletics director for school system.
An ambulance took Prince to the hospital soon after Cleveland administered CPR and used the school's defibrillator on Prince. School officials said they do not know how long it took EMS workers to get to the school, but they arrived quickly.
Keith McInnis, Prince's basketball coach, called Prince's mother and grandmother as soon as it happened, he said. They both arrived at Parkland before the ambulance left, he said.
The cause of Prince's collapse is not known. He had the required physical exam to play sports and had been cleared to play both basketball and football with no restrictions, school officials said.
Cleveland and other school officials stayed at the hospital into the early hours of yesterday morning. Several of Prince's teammates also went to the hospital Tuesday night, school officials said.
Officials canceled the rest of the game, which was the first game of the season. All Parkland sporting practices and events yesterday were canceled.
Tim Lee, Parkland's principal, said that school officials have not decided whether the team will play the game scheduled for Friday. The school's five guidance counselors were available to students yesterday, he said.
Gentry said that the state requires paramedics to be present at football games. They are not required at basketball games.
"It's not required by the state to have first responders or athletic trainers, but in our system, we have one at every basketball game," Gentry said. "We have first responders and our athletic trainers at most events.
"In some cases, such as at football, we have medical doctors on call because it is such a high-collision sport," Gentry said. "With the collisions, there's a higher risk of catastrophic injury in football, and so therefore, we take the additional precautions."
In August, a 15-year-old football player, Matt Gfeller, was rushed to Baptist after being injured during Reynolds High School's season-opening football game against Greensboro Page.
Gfeller later died of the brain injury that he sustained when he collided with an opposing player during the game.
"The Matt Gfeller situation was a little bit different," said Theo Helm, a school-system spokesman. "He actually was hit during a play. This is a different situation."
McInnis said he is praying that Prince will get better.
"He is our leader. He's the starting point guard and a wonderful kid," McInnis said of Prince. "He is a very good athlete. He made all-county, Forsyth County football team. He seemed to be fine."
■ Lisa Boone-Wood can be reached at 727-7232 or at
lboone-wood@wsjournal.com.
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