Raheem Morris, a defensive coordinator for the NFL Los Angeles Rams, has run many clutch plays in his career — but this has to be the best ever. Over the weekend, the football coach helped save a drowning child’s life at a hotel swimming pool.
The incident took place at the Encore Resort in Las Vegas, where Morris was spending time with his family. According to reports, a drowning 3-year-old boy was pulled from the pool by his father and rushed to a lifeguard. The lifeguard began to perform CPR after it was discovered the boy had no pulse.
Thinking fast, Morris sprung to action and ran over to the scene.
“I saw people calling 911 so my first question was, where is the AED?” Morris told ESPN. An AED is an automatic external defibrillator, which is used to deliver an electrical shock, or defibrillation, to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm.
Morris was able to locate a device and raced it over to the struggling boy.
“We had a doctor on site that was able to start the compressions. I was able to hand the AED to him, get it open for him, put the pads on the child, and he ended up being OK,” Morris said.
Morris’s wife Nicole wrote about the harrowing ordeal in an Instagram post, saying that the child was discharged from the hospital 24 hours later.
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AED training
Morris was quick to give credit to the recent CPR and AED training offered by the Rams. NFL teams have been ramping up efforts like this ever since Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a heart attack during an NFL game in January. Thankfully, medical professionals on the scene were able to act quickly and use an AED to restart Hamlin’s heart.
Hamlin himself was on Capitol Hill in March advocating for a new bipartisan legislation called “Access to AEDs Act.” The bill increase the training and availability of AEDs on school campuses.
Morris told ESPN how the Hamlin incident and the recent tragic drowning of Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett’s 2-year-old daughter, has helped him be more aware of how important it is to be prepared for moments like these.
“I’m just thankful I knew what to do,” Raheem Morris said. “You just never know when you’re going to need that stuff.”
