THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 30, 1997 TAG: 9701300346
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA MCLEROY AND PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 81 lines
Carol Crowe went to a basketball game Tuesday night to watch her daughter, junior varsity cheerleader Leslie.
Three minutes into Hickory High's boys game against Great Bridge, her role changed.
The nurse with 19 1/2 years of experience at Chesapeake General Hospital went to work when Great Bridge senior Stephen Parker collapsed on the court. While Crowe did not see him go down, she saw the trainer begin CPR.
``When I noted the situation and saw them begin CPR, I came down to join the efforts because I am a nurse and I do teach CPR.''
Crowe kept up CPR until medics responded and restored a pulse and breathing on the scene, then rushed Parker to Chesapeake General Hospital.
Rescue personnel have credited Crowe's efforts with keying Parker's eventual recovery. He is in stable condition in the intensive care unit.
``There was good CPR by the bystanders,'' Medic 5 paramedic Lisa Crouch said. ``They need to be commended. They were instrumental and were the biggest factor.''
Cynthia Parker and her family spent the night in the intensive care unit, waiting for word on her son Stephen's condition.
After more than 24 hours of observation and testing at the hospital, no questions have been answered. No one knows why Parker was stricken.
``He's stable right now, and that's all we really know,'' Cynthia Parker said. ``The doctors are doing tests . . . We hope this was a fluke. We're just trusting in the Lord. Everybody has been great. We don't know what the future holds; we'll continue praying. The doctors aren't saying anything.''
Teammates, coaches and friends gathered at the hospital overnight to await word. They were rewarded when Parker regained consciousness and his ability to speak. While he does not remember what happened, he is responsive.
Unlike Parker, his teammates and personnel who responded may never forget what happened.
Less than three minutes into the game, Parker was coming over to help on a halfcourt trap when he went down.
``The Hickory player broke through the trap, and then (Parker) went down,'' said Scott Weaver, a member of the game's three-man officiating crew. ``His head didn't bang on the floor or anything. I think his hand hit first. I wasn't sure if he had just twisted his knee or his ankle or something. And Hickory was in a fastbreak situation. So I acknowledged we had a player down and waited for the nearest opportunity to check on him.''
The Hawks quickly worked the ball to Roland Brown, who nailed a 3-pointer to give Hickory an 8-6 lead with 5:13 remaining in the first quarter.
``Once I saw that basket, I looked back, realized (Parker) needed help and immediately called the trainer,'' Weaver said.
The public address announcer sought a registered nurse or doctor and two RNs responded and began CPR. Parker was down about five minutes when the Medic 5 EMS station received the call.
``The dispatcher called and said a basketball player was down and unconscious,'' said Crouch, who responded to the scene with Eric Brown. ``Our thinking was something else was going on. Never in a million years did we think cardiac arrest. That came as quite a shock to us.''
Crouch and Brown took about four minutes to reach Great Bridge High School. Brown was entering the gym while Crouch unloaded equipment. The two were still unaware they were dealing with a cardiac arrest situation.
``Right before the door, somebody from the school met me screaming, `He's not breathing, we're doing CPR. Run, run, run!' '' Brown said. ``I looked and he was at the other end of the floor with people around him.''
Crowe was performing CPR, a fact that both Crouch and Brown pointed out was the most critical factor in saving Parker's life. Brown used defibrillation paddles to shock Parker's heart into beating and within seconds he was restored. The medics used a tube to breathe for Parker, but by the time he was on the backboard he was struggling against the tube and fighting for air.
``From there it got progressively better,'' Brown said. ``He started trying to breathe on his own. His pulse rate was fast, but it slowed to a normal rate and he had good pressure.''
Pending test results, Parker and his mom want to carry on with his life - including basketball.
``He's been playing basketball forever it seems like,'' she said. ``The whole time he was growing up . . . He hopes to go to college and keep playing basketball.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Great Bridge's Stephen Parker was in stable condition after
collapsing during Tuesday's game.
KEYWORDS: CARDIAC ARREST GREAT BRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL