An LA Rams coach helped save a child from drowning and credited the NFL's new medical emergency training
- NFL's Raheem Morris used new CPR/AED training to help save a 3-year-old from drowning in Vegas.
- Morris credited the training for his swift response, highlighting recent NFL health scares.
The NFL's new emphasis on CPR and AED training has already helped save the life of at least one person, a 3-year-old boy who nearly drowned in a Las Vegas pool.
This past weekend Los Angeles Rams assistant coach Raheem Morris was at a hotel in Las Vegas with his family when a father pulled his son from the pool without a heartbeat, according to Paolo Uggetti of ESPN, who cited an Instagram post from Morris' wife.
In an interview with ESPN, the Rams assistant coach and former Bucs head coach said he assisted the lifeguard and a doctor with the automated external defibrillator (AED) to help save the child.
"My first question was, where is the AED?" Morris told ESPN. "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 his team and the NFL's recent emphasis on first aid and CPR training following the on-field incident last season in which Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills nearly died when a hit caused him to experience cardiac arrest. CPR performed by one of the Bills' trainers is credited with saving Hamlin's life.
After a tackle that included a hit to Hamlin's chest, he fell to the ground and had to be resuscitated twice, according to one family member. Hamlin suffered commotion cordis, a rare situation when trauma hits the heart at the exact moment in between beats when it is "resetting."
Hamlin has since been cleared to resume his football career.
According to ESPN, Morris cited both Hamlin's incident and the recent drowning death of the 2-year-old daughter of NFL player Shaquil Barrett for increased "awareness and preparedness among coaches and players for those unforeseen moments."