Defibrillator and Hypothermia Treatment

Patient Stories 

Jonathan holds the AED that helped save his life, alongside his family, caregivers and trainers from Dawson High School.

On a perfect Spring day in the south Houston suburb of Pearland, the district champion Glenda Dawson High School Eagles had just begun football practice when fullback Jonathan Moore suddenly began gasping for breath. Moments later, he lay unconscious on the field.

Several players ran to the weight room to get Eagles Trainer Christopher Shaddock, who grabbed a rescue inhaler and first-aid kit.

“When I reached Jonathan, I was sure he was dead; he was not breathing and he didn’t have a pulse,” said Shaddock, who began CPR while a coach ran to the sidelines to get the school’s Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).

Shaddock and the other team trainer, Matt Thomas, performed two cycles of CPR before the coach returned with the AED.

“We applied the AED, and it immediately told us to administer shock, which we did,” Shaddock said. “We felt a slight pulse, and Jonathan began breathing. I have never been so relieved.”

Moore was rushed to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, where specialists immediately began hypothermia therapy, a breakthrough cooling therapy that decreases the body’s metabolism and keeps the brain from swelling.

Diagnostic testing revealed that Moore had ventricular fibrillation, in which the heart beats faintly—not strong and regular enough to push blood through the heart’s chambers.

“We knew immediately that Jonathan needed an internal cardiac defibrillator,” said Gurur Biliciler-Denktas, M.D., pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Memorial Hermann and assistant professor of cardiology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. “If Jonathan’s heart does not beat regularly, the ICD will shock it into a regular rhythm.”

Moore had an uncle who died at age 33 of cardiac arrest; however, ventricular fibrillation has no known cause.

“Jonathan’s experience could happen to anyone, which is why it is crucial for everyone to know how to operate an AED,” Dr. Biliciler-Denktas said. “It is as easy as performing CPR, and you don’t have to have any medical training to do it.

“Having AED machines in schools is definitely saving lives,” Dr. Biliciler-Denktas continued. “They allow anyone to become a “first responder.”

Though Moore’s competitive sports days may be over, his prognosis is excellent, and he will be able to participate in normal activities and some recreational sports.

“I will never leave football; I will just find another way to be part of it,” said Moore, who expressed gratitude for the coach, trainers and doctors who saved his life. “And if a player collapses on the field, I will know exactly what to do.”