NFL coach Raheem Morris helps resuscitate a lifeless three-year-old boy who drowned in a hotel pool
An NFL coach has played a key role in resuscitating a three-year-old boy who drowned in a Las Vegas hotel pool.
Raheem Morris was with his wife Nicole and family – the couple have three children of their own – when the horrifying scene unfolded.
Nicole wrote on Instagram that the lifeless boy was pulled out of the water by his own father.
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While others quickly called 911, Morris ran over to offer direct assistance to a lifeguard who had just begun performing CPR compressions.
“My first question was, ‘Where’s the AED?'” he said ESPN.
Morris said he collected the automated external defibrillator and teamed up with a doctor, who has since arrived at the scene.
“I was able to give him the AED, open it for him, put the pads on the kid and he was fine in the end,” said the 46-year-old coach.
Morris’ wife Nicole said the boy spent a day in hospital before being discharged.
The recent drowning death of Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Shaquil Barrett’s two-year-old daughter was fresh in Morris’ mind as he rushed over to help poolside in Las Vegas.
He also acknowledged the NFL community’s reaction to Buffalo Bills defenseman Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during a game in January.
Hamlin received life-saving CPR at the scene and has since been a proponent of learning CPR and improving AED access.
NFL teams, including Morris’ Los Angeles Rams, followed suit.
“I’m just grateful that I knew what to do,” he said.
“You just never know when you might need the stuff.”
Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff praised Morris and the actions of the NFL franchise following Hamlin’s near-death experience.
“An amazing story of quick thinking in the moment by Raheem Morris and grateful to (Rams Chief Sports Medicine Officer) Reggie Scott for training our staff in CPR and AED,” he wrote.
“It is very likely that seeing the life-saving CPR given to Damar Hamlin inspired our organization to train and save another life.
“CPR and AEDs save lives.”
