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The athletic trainer at a Massachusetts high school comes to the aid of a football game timekeeper, saving his life. After the Norton High School Lancers won their game against Sharon High School this past weekend, the Lancers huddled in the endzone. Just then, Norton High’s coach Jim Artz noticed a commotion on the sideline. Someone had collapsed on the track circling the field.
When Artz approached the crowd surrounding the man, he realized it was the timekeeper for the game, thought to be in his 70s. Artz says the official was purple and lifeless. The crowd watched in horror, but people knew just who to call to save the day: Norton High's athletic trainer Kathryn "Kat" Sevigny. "I hear people yelling, 'Kat, Kat, Kat. We need you.' And I see a man lying on the ground," the trainer recalls.
Sevigny ran toward the man, checked his vitals, and began performing CPR. She then called out for someone to bring her the facility's automated external defibrillator (AED), which she had just checked the batteries on earlier, not knowing she’d ever need it. After using the AED, the man regained consciousness right away. "He went from lifeless to talking," says Sevigny. "It felt like a million years. But I think it was in a span of five minutes." The man was taken to a nearby hospital and his family says he’s on the road to recovery. And Artz says he’s got Kat Sevigny to thank for that. "She's a hero," Artz says.