Damar Hamlin’s collapse was a scary deja vu for Monterey student athlete Zaidyn Ward.
On August 31st, Ward collapsed following a freshman high school football game against Abilene Wylie.
His heart stopped.
Fortunately, state law has required AEDs at all schools since 2007. After CPR was performed, the on-site medical staff used one of these defibrillators to revive him.
In the hospital, Ward was diagnosed with left main coronary artery stenosis. Over the last few months, Ward has endured an angiogram and open-heart surgery in nearby Fort Worth. He currently wears an implantable defibrillator on his left side, called a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
He will rejoin his classmate when school starts this Monday.
As of this writing, the cause of Hamlin’s cardiac arrest remains unclear.
If you would like to donate to Zaidyn Ward’s medical care, you can contribute at his GoFundMe page.
