An Oklahoma 16-year-old high school student and basketball player, Randy Vitales, suddenly collapsed during a basketball match on January 9. A member of the opposing team, Magnus Miller, immediately went to help Vitales, used a defibrillator on Vitales, and instructed school staff on how to administer CPR while paramedics arrived. Vitales is recovering, and Miller is now regarded as a hero.
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According to KOCO-5, Randy Vitales, from Dover High School went into cardiac arrest during the basketball match. Three minutes into the match, Vitales collapsed into the ground. Miller, from Life Christian Academy, playing on the opposite team, quickly noticed this. "He just went to lay up, and I was getting the ball, about to dribble up the court," Miller told the outlet. "And I turn around, and he's on the ground."
Almost immediately, Miller, who is a trained lifeguard, rushed to help Vitaltes. "I didn't have any second thoughts about it. I just jumped in and took control," Miller said. At that moment, Miller used an automatic external defibrillator (AED) to save Vitales' life. Meanwhile, he began instructing school staffers on how to perform CPR. Twenty minutes later, paramedics arrived.
The Guthrie Fire Department stated that Miller saved Vitales' life, "without a shadow of a doubt," according to KOCO-5. Miller called it "one of the biggest things" he's ever done in his life.
Dover Public Schools
shared a statement on January 9, saying that Vitales was rushed to the Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City. "Randy is currently on a ventilator, but his blood pressure is stable. Randy is undergoing several tests and will be moved to ICU," the statement read at the time. "Doctors did say that the quick response by our coaches and the training they received is probably what saved his life."A Hero
Days after the incident, Magnus Miller and Randy Vitales met. In a video provided by OU Health, the two exchanged heartwarming words with each other. "It's weird hearing someone say you saved their life," Miller said. "But it wasn't really me. It was God just being there for me and him. Obviously, I didn't go there to play basketball that day."
Vitales then told Miller: "I honestly don't know what to say to you. You saved my life." Miller, without thinking twice, just as he did back on the basketball court, answered. "I'll always be there for you," Miller told Vitales.
Dover Superintendent Jay Wood shared a statement of his own with KOCO-5. In it, he makes sure to thank everyone including the school staffers, the coaches, the ones in attendance, a nurse, and, of course, Miller.
"There were several people involved in the incident. The young man from Life Christian was a rock star," Wood said. "We can't thank everyone enough for their service, as well as all of the prayers for our young man and his family. God is good all the time and the power of prayer is amazing"
