Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "He's still in the hospital, but he's doing good now. He woke, 'cause God woke him up."
Tuesday night was a chance for the Riverside community, as well as the local little league football community to gather at Riverside Park in Buffalo and pray as a group for the well-being of 11-year-old Marcus, who was the Black Rock-Riverside football player that went into cardiac arrest during a game Saturday while playing a team from Clarence.
The incident unfolded in a matter of seconds, leaving parents, players and coaches in shock.
"My varsity girls were actually about to go next, so I was getting them warmed up, and I was just watching the game like I always do. And then our boy went down. It was very traumatic," said Alyssa, a cheerleading coach with the Black Rock-Riverside program. "This was probably one of my first instances where this did happen, and as a coach, it is scary. It is very scary. … The amount of love we've received from everybody is very overwhelming. It's greatly appreciated."
Luckily, Breona McCarter - better known in the program as "Smiley" - is a certified EMT and recognized the situation quickly.
"I actually wasn't watching the game. It was the third game of the day, my oldest son plays the fourth game. I was over by their team, helping them warm up, playing music for them. And one of the grandparents of the team came over to me and said, 'Smiley, we need you over here fast,'" McCarter recalled with WBEN. "I ran over... I saw the crowd of people around him and I saw him not moving. I just instantly started compressions."
As an EMT and as someone teaching CPR throughout the community every single week, McCarter did not hesitate getting to Marcus and beginning CPR in short order.
"I am the community engagement specialist, so I'm always in the community doing CPR. So it's second nature to me to just jump in, know the signs, and know what to do, designate different tasks to everyone that was around me. I felt like it was very smooth for me." McCarter said.
She says it was also the passing of her grandmother this past December that helped her focus on the task at hand and go to work saving Marcus' life.
"I was the one that found her in her home. So as soon as I saw him laying down on the ground, instantly I just knew I need to save him," McCarter said candidly. "One of the regrets was that I didn't find my grandmother sooner, so when I saw this happen, something kicked in. Regardless of if it was my grandmother and thinking about that or not, I would have did everything I could. But it was just something about thinking about my grandmother and seeing him in that condition, I just wanted to do everything I could to help him."
After getting chest compressions on Marcus, others quickly went to work to grab an automated external defibrillator (AED) on site, and utilize that to get his heart started once again.
Marcus was then transported to Golisano Children's Hospital of Buffalo, where he has been since. It was announced Tuesday by Marcus' brother at the community prayer that Marcus had woken up from an induced coma and is on the road to recovery.
"It was actually amazing to know that we did have somebody like Smiley to just jump right into action when we needed it," said Alyssa of McCarter's actions. "We never thought anything like this would happen, but that's why you never know."
Among those that showed up to Tuesday's prayer for Marcus at Riverside Park were other little league teams from surrounding Buffalo communities, as well as other places like Tonawanda and Grand Island.
"The Black Rock-Riverside organization has been part of NEYSA (Niagara Erie Youth Sports Association) as long as we have, so we're community," said Ken Genova, coach with the Grand Island Jr. Vikings program. "All of junior football, all across our area is there for each other. So that's why we came out today, support for them.
"I would hope if we had something happen on Grand Island, we would have the same support."
Genova admits there was plenty of shock that went through the Grand Island little league football community when hearing of Marcus' sudden cardiac arrest during a game. That spurred Genova and others to immediately run through their procedures again to ensure they are ready for the happenchance of a player suddenly going unresponsive on the field of play.
"What we did is we went back and we looked at our emergency procedure plans to make sure we're set for the same thing. We have our AED on site, we have maps for the EMTs to get to us. It just makes you think again about it," Genova acknowledged.
Tuesday's community prayer was also the opportunity to further highlight the importance of CPR and AED training, and knowing what to do if, and when another situation like Marcus' takes place.
"Go out and get your CPR [training]. Go out, learn about it, educate yourself," Alyssa said. "You don't know when this is going to happen. Hug your kids very tightly, because you never know."
"We have our coaches get trained on how to do CPR and AED training and all of that, just in case of this," Genova noted. "We also have one of our coaches, he's also an EMT. He's there at the games all day long so in case there is an issue, he'll be there to help them out."
"I just want to ask people: The way that you felt, do you ever want to feel like that again and not know the skill? So I think it's very important," McCarter added. "You don't even need a card for a CPR now. I'm literally teaching hands-only CPR, bystander CPR. As soon as you see something, know the signs and jump in to help. You never know when you're going to need it. It can be in a grocery store, at a Bills game, you never know when you're going to use CPR."
