Caught on Camera: Vice-principal helps save student’s life with CPR

A ninth grader in Utah is lucky to be alive after his heart stopped and he collapsed to the floor in the middle of gym class.

Skyler Nelson, 14, was running warm-up laps during the beginning of gym class at West Jordan Middle School on Oct. 14 when something went terribly wrong.

“He just dropped,” teacher Alan Nakagama explained. “I rolled him over; he was gasping for air. His eyes were in the top of his head.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He just dropped," teacher <a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/two-days-after-taking-cpr-class-local-vice-principal-saves-students-life" target="_blank">Alan Nakagama explained</a>. "I rolled him over; he was gasping for air. His eyes were in the top of his head."

School principal Dixie Garrison described the scene as “horrifying” and claimed that Skyler “essentially died right there in our gym.”

That’s when vice-principal Eric Price came to the rescue. Price had just completed a CPR course ten days earlier and immediately began providing chest compressions – alternating with school resource officer David Hood.

The pair were able to revive the 14-year-old who was then brought to Primary Children’s Hospital where family and staff confirmed Skyler has a genetic heart defect. He did, according to his mother, pass a physical in early October.

ABC reports that Nelson regained full consciousness Friday – two days after collapsing.

The teen says he’s grateful for Price and Hood’s quick actions. He’s slated for surgery where doctors will install a defibrillator inside his body to help prevent similar future incidents.