NBA hopeful's heart stopped on the court. 心肺复苏 and an AED saved his life.

当奥马尔·卡特走进夏洛特篮球场观看一场职业篮球赛时，他希望能引起一位NBA球探的注意, 北卡罗莱纳.

卡特在他的篮球生涯中表现出了很多希望，但还没有被选中. NBA superstar Steph Curry, Carter's good friend and high school teammate, 告诉ESPN，卡特推着他，可以“在身体上统治或超越”其他球员.

Then 25, Carter felt a little tired as he warmed up for the game. 他把它甩掉了.

比赛开始了. 卡特弹跳传球给他的队友，然后后退离开篮筐. He faltered and tried to catch himself. His footsteps stopped and he fell.

His body looked lifeless, splayed on the court.

体育馆静了下来.

Several people in the stands called 911. 其他人开始祈祷.

Claudia Ward, a spectator who knew 心肺复苏, rushed to the floor.

She shouted, "What's his name?"

一个男人回答说:“奥马尔."

She leaned closer and started saying, "Omar, Omar. 坚持住，奥马尔."

She started doing chest compressions.

A woman ran over in high heels and kicked them off. She said, "I'm a cardiac nurse" and took over 心肺复苏 from Ward.

Someone else ran upstairs to get an AED, or automated external defibrillator, a machine that can help restore a heart's normal rhythm. It was in a room with a locked door. 把它分解!" shouted a woman who worked for the facility.

The group ran the AED back down to the court. The cardiac nurse shocked Carter three times.

After the third shock, he gasped. He'd been without a heartbeat for 13 minutes.

医护人员在送他去医院的路上用药物使他昏迷.

几天后，当他醒来时，他眨了眨眼睛，发现自己被接上了氧气. His body was covered in cooling devices. He looked around the room, confused.

His doctor asked if he knew his name.

卡特回答说:“奥马尔。”然后他又问了自己几个问题:“今天是什么日子??他说. Then, "Can I still play basketball?"

卡特得知他在比赛中心脏骤停, when the heart suddenly stops beating. Cardiac arrest outside of a hospital is fatal about 90% of the time.

Doctors placed an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, 或ICD, in his chest to monitor his heart's rhythm. 如果该设备检测到问题，它可以将心脏电击回正常节律.

At 16, Carter had been diagnosed with "athlete's heart,它描述了由于高强度训练导致的心脏的物理和电子变化. But he'd never had any issues. 他看了当时国内顶尖的运动心脏病专家之一，并做了定期检查. 他的心肌并没有变得更厚，他的医生认为他患严重心脏问题的风险很低.

因此，当时医生无法确切地告诉卡特，他的心脏在2013年7月的那一天停止跳动的原因. But one thing was clear: His basketball career was over.

When he got home from the hospital, he had to face the void of a life without basketball, 从他能运球开始，这项运动就消耗了他的生命. He struggled with debilitating depression and grief.

"The first few months were really hard,他说. "I had been 'Omar Carter the basketball player' for 25 years. 我不得不重新开始."

Losing basketball wasn't just a loss of identity for Carter, it was also a loss of his livelihood, 他的未来, and many of his relationships. He spent months trying to figure out what he wanted to do next.

他妈妈建议他加入一个可以帮助其他运动员的组织. Her idea struck a chord with him. 他成立了奥马尔·卡特基金会，以提高人们对心脏骤停的认识，并增加了解心肺复苏术的人数.

十年后, the Omar Carter Foundation partners with universities, 运动队, 青年组织, 企业和社区提供心肺复苏术和AED教育，并向运动员及其家人传播心血管筛查和预防意识. Carter also has shared his story at events across the country.

这个基金会给了卡特在输掉篮球之后所需要的目标. 这也给了他一种与其他经历过心脏骤停的运动员联系的方式, 他希望这能帮助人们应对心脏问题的情感和精神方面.

“人们在经历最艰难的时刻时，需要有人倾诉，”他说.

Carter has found immense value in sharing his story. But one response surprised him.

在2019年与一位名叫摩根的女性约会时，她说:“你的故事听起来很熟悉. I think my mom helped save your life."

It turned out that Morgan was outside the arena that night, waiting for her mom – Claudia Ward, 那个从看台上冲到球场上的女人——和她一起庆祝她的21岁生日. Indeed, her mom's delay was helping save Carter's life.

Ward is now Carter's mother-in-law. He and Morgan married in March 2021 and live in Charlotte.

“我无法想象他们没有在一起，没有奥马尔在我们的家庭，”沃德说. “你永远不知道这个世界会如何把你和某人联系起来."

发自内心的故事 记录心脏病和中风幸存者、护理人员和倡导者的鼓舞人心的旅程.