Teen's heart is always in the game - even after collapsing on basketball court twice
MANSFIELD - A North Texas teen was diagnosed with a rare heart condition after collapsing twice during her middle school basketball games last November.
Come to find out, her life was saved by the same nurse and parent both times, and the two are now sharing a lifelong bond.
It all started the week before Thanksgiving when Cirye Carpenter was playing in a basketball game. Cirye, who goes by CC, loves sports and plays on both the basketball and softball teams at Linda Jobe Middle School in Mansfield.
CC collapsed during the game, but thankfully parent, Kari McConnell, also a nurse of 20 years, was nearby and immediately sprang into action, using the school's nearby AED device to help CC.
An AED, or automated external defibrillator, is used to help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.
"I knew what to do but it scared me because I was doing this to one of my daughter's friends. It could've been my daughter," said McConnell.
Doctors told the Carpenter family that CC collapsed because she was dehydrated. CC was back on the court two weeks later, but she collapsed again during another game – but this time – her heart stopped completely.
"When I noticed that she wasn't breathing. I thought she was gone," Shay Carpenter, CC's mother, said with tears in her eyes, "she wasn't responding. She wasn't moving her lips and her hands were blue. "
"And I got up on my knees and I went to start doing a first compression, and CC took a huge gasp of breath," McConnell explained.
Doctors reviewed the readings from the school's AED device that was used in CC's first attack, and diagnosed her with a rare heart condition "anomalous aortic origin of the left coronary artery."
The condition prevents blood from flowing into a chamber of the heart. It is typically found at birth and requires surgery for the patient to survive.
"When we found out, I was heartbroken because I immediately thought it was my fault. She was born with this, and we never knew," Shay Carpenter said.
Despite the difficult news, the Carpenter family credits McConnel for saving her daughter's life.
"Because one second longer just one second my baby wouldn't be here," Shay Carpenter adds.
Now, CC and McConnell share a lifelong bond.
"My life is tethered to hers now. I feel like I was called to be a nurse. I was supposed to be there, but I also believe God put me there in both situations," McConnell says.
CC is scheduled to have open heart surgery at Cook Children's Hospital on Tuesday, February 6. If everything goes well, CC hopes to play softball in high school and at the University of Oklahoma. She also hopes her story can be an inspiration to others.
"Just continue to chase your dreams --- don't stop because of one little bump. You'll be through it," says CC.
Kari McCullum plans on being with CC and her family for the surgery on Tuesday. The family has a GoFundMe page set up for medical expenses.
