Quick Response, CPR, AED Save Life Of Student-athlete After He Collapses On Glenwood Track

The quick thinking and action of bystanders, staff and paramedics is being credited with saving the life of a student that collapsed at the Glenwood Athletic Complex track during last Tuesday’s Glenwood Ram Relays.

Just after 5:20 p.m., a Creston High School freshman suffered a medical emergency after running his leg of the sprint medley relay. The student, Nate Bentley, staggered then collapsed on the north end of the track.

When Bentley went down, according to Glenwood Activities Director Jeff Bissen who was monitoring the situation from the press box, a possible injury call went out on district-issued walkie talkies immediately that an athlete was down in lane eight. Such injuries aren’t uncommon, he added, but that changed when Bentley was found unresponsive.

“At that point, it was scramble mode,” Bissen said. “We called for a doctor, a nurse and a trainer and at that point I took off and grabbed the AED.”

Bissen said CPR started on Bentley within “three or four minutes,” and a single shock was administered via the AED two minutes later by John Huey, a Glenwood track assistant coach and a Council Bluffs Police Officer.

The AED (Automated External Defibrillator) delivers an electric shock through the chest to the heart when it detects an abnormal rhythm and changes the rhythm back to normal.

At 5:29 p.m. Glenwood paramedics were on the scene. Bentley was stabilized and taken to Omaha’s Children’s Hospital where he remains in the cardiac care unit.

Bissen has been in contact with Bentley’s mother daily since the Tuesday.

“He is stable and they’re running tests, and he will probably go home this week, Bissen said.

The 15-year-old had no known previous cardiac problems, according to Bissen.

Bissen is glad the track had easy access to an AED and the responsiveness of the training staff and paramedics. The GCSD has an AED in every school and facility in the district. This is the first time in his 13 years in Glenwood the device has had to be used at a sporting event.

“We have them in every building and a trainer that carries one,” he said. “They’re always accessible for this reason.”

From the time the first call for assistance over walkie talkies to the arrival of paramedics, just seven minutes elapsed.

“The first responders there were the most important people in this process,” Bissen said. “They assessed the situation, started to administer CPR and then the AED after that. Without them being there to start CPR and administer that shock, the doctors at Children’s made it very clear this kid would no longer be alive. The AED is super important, and we were very thankful we had it available.”

Bissen plans to address the city council about the rescue squad’s quick response time.

“Four to five minutes for an ambulance to be on site is remarkable.,” he said. “As we hear about funding being cut to programs like this (paramedics), it’s situations like this that puts into reality just how important they are.”
Glenwood Fire Chief Matt Gray praised the actions of those who attended to Bentley immediately after he fell to the track.

“Getting the AED on him like they did was a game changer,” the chief said.

Gray said Glenwood Rescue personnel were dealing with several unknown variables while transporting Bentley to Children’s Hospital, including his medical history and the possibility that he may have sustained a head injury when he fell to the track.

The Creston News Advertiser reported that Bentley didn’t wake up until 12 hours after the incident.He didn’t remember running a new personal-best time in his leg of the relay or collapsing on the track.

“I don’t even remember running the race,” Bentley told the newspaper from his hospital bed. “I just woke up in the hospital with my mom next to me. I didn’t know what to think, and I was scared.”

Creston High School Activities Director Scott Driskell and CHS Principal Bill Messerole visited Bentley in the hospital, bringing along Glenwood’s AED for the cardiologists to look at. The device saves information that may be valuable for doctors treating a patient who has been administered a shock with the device.

Bentley remained hospitalized after the incident. Bissen paid him a personal visit at the hospital Friday.