Bailey Venet, 13, was in the middle of a basketball game against another local middle school when he collapsed on the court. Andy Dean, the opposing team’s coach, recalls what happened. “It was the fourth quarter of the tournament game, and there was a stop in play, … I think there was a foul or something, and the refs blew the whistle and stopped the play, … and he collapsed”.
Andy used to be an EMT and his wife, Sara, is a nurse. They were the first ones to rush to Bailey’s side as soon as they saw what happened. Sara immediately knew something was wrong – Bailey didn’t fall or trip because he didn’t put his hands down to break his fall – and that she had to help. While they performed CPR, three other good Samaritans found the AED and resuscitated Bailey. He became responsive by the time EMTs arrived.
Tests at the hospital later confirmed that Bailey has a condition called restrictive cardiomyopathy. Annual physicals at the doctors office couldn’t detect it and it wasn’t until this incident that his parents even knew something was wrong. But, thanks to the brave efforts of Andy and Sara Cohen and others, Bailey is alive and well.
