NEED TO KNOW
- A high school football coach’s heart stopped while he was playing pickleball in Southern California last month
- An off-duty firefighter was playing nearby and rushed to save his life
- The two men reunited so the heart-attack survivor could express his thanks
A high school football coach suffered a heart attack while playing pickleball in Southern California, and fortunately, an off-duty firefighter’s quick action helped save his life.
On Dec. 19, Rob Frith, the head football coach at San Juan Hills High School, was playing the popular sport at a park in San Clemente when he collapsed, CW affiliate KTLA and CBS affiliate KCBS reported.
“One minute you’re there and enjoying time with friends,” Frith told KCBS. “It hit me so fast I dropped on the back of my head.”
John Rowlands was playing at a nearby pickleball court when he saw Frith go down. The off-duty firefighter from Orange County Fire Authority ran over and performed chest compressions for approximately 15 minutes until paramedics arrived, according to the outlet.
When deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department arrived, they used an automated external defibrillator (AED) on Frith, and paramedics performed lifesaving care, the Orange County Fire Authority said in a statement about the incident.
“Because of the rapid, coordinated response, Rob was awake and talking in the ambulance as he was transported from the scene,” the department continued, “an outcome that is rare in cardiac arrest cases.”
Frith told KTLA that he wasn’t fully aware of what occurred until he was in the ambulance and saw two paramedics.
“I think I looked at them and just kind of said, ‘Well, if I’m looking at you two guys right now, something bad must’ve happened to me,’ ” he said. “I think the response I got was something like, ‘No, you’re looking at us right now, so I think something good happened to you.’ That was Johnny saving my life.”
As his family rushed to the trauma center, they were praying for his safety, according to the outlet. At the hospital, Frith was treated for sudden cardiac arrest and later learned that he had a previously undetected heart defect, KCBS reported.
Orange County Fire Authority and the Frith family did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for further comment.
CBS LA/Youtube
Now recovering, Frith and his family were able to visit Fire Station 59 on Monday, Jan. 12, to thank Rowlands and the other first responders who saved his life.
“This means everything,” Frith’s wife, Tara, told Rowlands, according to KCBS. “You are our forever hero, along with the other men that were there with you that day. I cannot thank you enough.”
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For Rowlands, he’s glad he had the skills to save the father and coach.
“It felt good,” Rowlands told the outlet. “It was really cool to know that we had the right people there at the right time to keep a family together.”
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