DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- A paramedic with Dallas Fire Rescue found himself in the right place at the right time and saved a teenage girl's life.
Back on November 3rd, Irving Nimitz was slated to take on Arlington Lamar in girls basketball in Arlington.
Dallas Fire Rescue Capt. Kenneth Zacharie took in the game; his wife is Nimitz's head coach.
"Usually I'm never on time," Capt. Zacharie tells KRLD News. "But that's why I say God put the right people in the right place at the right time."
That's because during warmups, one of the Nimitz players went down.
"I think maybe she rolled her ankle," says Capt. Zacharie. "I saw my wife take our running and to attend to her. And that's what I saw her roll her on her side. I knew something was up at that point."
Zacharie immediately sprung into action.
"They didn't know I was a paramedic and a firefighter," Zacharie says. "To them, I'm just a layperson or regular bystander. So I had to break the ice and say, 'Hey I'm a paramedic, this is how we do it, and this is what we're going to do.'"
Lamar trainer Bryant Grice then brought out an AED.
"We shocked her, then I resumed compressions," Zacharie recalls. "After two minutes, we shocked her again. Did other compressions for two minutes, and then shocked her a third time."
Then Arlington EMS showed up; and using a LIFEPACK, they revived the girl.
She was rushed to Texas Health Arlington Memorial and later transferred to Cook Children's Medical Center.
"Right now, she's at home resting and recovering," says Zacharie. "She's doing great. She's in great spirits and just ready to get back to her teammates and her coaches that she misses dearly."
As for the game; obviously, it was called off -- no one was in any condition to play after that horrifying medical episode.
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