Raheem Morris, a 46-year-old defensive coordinator for the NFL’s L.A. Rams, is being called a hero today after he assisted in saving the life of a young boy at a pool in Las Vegas. With all of the bad news we hear on a daily basis, it’s nice to see there are both good people in the world and good things happening, despite the fact mainstream media outlets seem to be largely allergic to reporting on them.
Morris was at the Encore resort and casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip, during a vacation with his blushing bride, Nicole, and the couple’s three kids. The family was enjoying a fun time at the pool when out of nowhere, a father pulled the unresponsive body of his three-year-old son from the water. The child was not breathing, so the dad, desperate to save his son’s life, took him to the lifeguard for assistance, according to TheBlaze.
As the lifeguard started to perform CPR on the boy, Morris, along with a few other guests at the resort leapt into action.
“I saw people calling 911, so my first question was: Where is the AED?” Morris stated after the incident during an interview with ESPN. An AED is an automated external defibrilator, which is used to help find erratic cardiac activity and use an appropriate amount of electric shock to help get the heart back in a normal rhythm.
“Morris quickly located the nearest AED and brought it to the scene. By the time he arrived, a doctor who happened to be on hand as well began rendering assistance to the boy. As the doctor began chest compressions, Morris said he ‘was able to hand the AED to him, get it open for him, put the pads on the child,'” the report said.
“The impromptu efforts of Morris and the other Good Samaritans that day paid off. The boy ‘ended up being OK,’ Morris said, and his wife reported on her Instagram account that the little guy had been discharged from the hospital just 24 hours after the frightening incident, which is believed to have occurred last weekend,” TheBlaze added.
While reflecting on the incident, Morris gave credit to the NFL and specifically Reggie Scott, the vice president of sports medicine and performance for the Rams, for training him to be prepared for these kind of situations. The coach revealed that Scott has trained both the team and staff about various emergency medicine protocols, which includes how to properly perform CPR, as well as use an AED.
The league has made it a top priority to prepare players and coaching staff for these kind of incidents after the on-field collapse of Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills last season, along with the death of Arrayah Barrett, the 2-year-old daughter of Shaquil Barrett of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who sadly drowned in a pool in May.
“I’m just thankful I knew what to do,” Morris stated as he reflected on the incident. “You just never know when you’re going to need that stuff.”
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