Sumner County student thanks heroes after cardiac arrest

Russ King
2022-05-28T00:00:00-04:00

A Sumner County high school student with no known medical problems had a sudden cardiac arrest in the classroom.
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A Sumner County high school student with no known medical problems had a sudden cardiac arrest in the classroom.

By Holly Thompson

Published: Apr. 27, 2022 at 10:04 PM EDT

GALLATIN, Tenn. (WSMV) -A Sumner County high school student with no known medical problems had a sudden cardiac arrest in the classroom.

Thanks to the school’s trained response team, his parents say their son is alive tonight and is already looking forward to his next cross-country competition.

“Blessed beyond measure,” Rejyna Beck, the mother of 16-year-old Linton Beck said. “There are so many times, that it doesn’t turn out this way. And God did an amazing thing. People here did exactly what they were supposed to do. The school, the hospitals.”

Rejyna and Stephen Beck say they’re beyond grateful their son is alive and well. The Station Camp High School sophomore went into sudden cardiac arrest just as his honors chemistry class was about to begin.

There were signs that he wasn’t breathing, and that he did not have a heartbeat and he did not have a pulse,” said Amanda Welty, a nurse at Station Camp High School.

Welty is one of the school’s 10 School Emergency Team (SET) members. There is one in every Sumner County school.

This trained team knows every second counts. “I walked into this door and saw him lying on the floor here behind me,” Stephen Beck said. “That was when it hit me. This is not just dehydration. This is not just, you stood up too quick, it’s something is very, very wrong.”

As an all-star athlete, Linton would run 15 to 20 miles a week.

“He’s very very active,” Stephen said. “No indications of heart issues. He keeps track of his pulse. His pulse is phenomenal, so great shape.”

“I was kind of wondering…did I do something wrong,” Linton said. “Did something happen? Is it genetic? Is it something I could pass on to my future children?”

An AED had to be used twice! That defibrillator readout showed Linton had an undetected heart condition.

For the first time since last week’s scare, Linton and his parents are finally able to personally thank all those who helped save his life.

I talked with Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt cardiologist Dr. English Flack - who says parents should:

-Talk to your child’s school and find out if it’s a designated “Heart Safe School” through Project Adam- meaning they have an emergency action plan in place and are doing the required CPR and AED drills.

-Find out how many AEDs the school has and where they’re located.

-Have the discussion- should there be more? - And, of course, their location is key.

-Even if your child is not an athlete- ask your pediatrician to perform a pre-participation sports physical exam or PPE- because it’s more in-depth and goes into family health history.

Advice from Vanderbilt Pediatric