Wisconsin student advocates for AED and CPR training

Russ King
2023-08-10T00:00:00-04:00

Wisconsin student shares sudden cardiac arrest experience, advocates for AED, CPR training
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DELAFIELD, Wis. — Basketball is 16-year-old Ty Wall’s favorite sport. It’s no surprise that dunking is his specialty.

That’s because he’s 6’5. Unfortunately, as of right now, he’s limited to only dribbling.

“I have a week left until I can go play sports again,” Ty Wall said.

He suffered from sudden cardiac arrest this past February at an Arrowhead Union High School basketball game.

“I was in the stands with my friends just talking to them having a good time watching the game, then boom I just collapsed and woke up with people surrounding me,” said Ty Wall. “It was pretty scary.”

Staff and fans with medical backgrounds rushed to him. They administered help using an AED, which saved his life.

“I was so confused. I was freaking because no one was in the stands,” he said. “Just a bunch of adults around me.”

Ty Wall said after a series of tests his doctors are still not sure what caused this to happen.

“I played three sports,” he said. “I played football, basketball and also did track. I’m active. I’d say I was pretty healthy. It seems really strange that it happened to me. I wouldn’t have expected it.”

He received an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, but after an infection, he recently had a new one put in. That’s the reason why he can’t shoot just yet.

“It’s kind of like a medical disk that goes in you,” he said. “It’s under my chest muscle. It sits there and has one wire that goes all the way into your heart and will shock you or take your heart beats.”

His mother, Lisa Wall, was in the stands that evening. She said thanks to the AED and those familiar with how to operate it, her son is still here today.

“What I would like to see happen at the beginning of each sports season is to see the coaches to sit with their group of athletes for each sport,” said Lisa Wall. “To go over basic CPR, where the AED is, dehydration. Any kind of these issues that happen to these kids while they’re participating in these sports.”

For her son, he was happy he was at the right place at the right time.

“I could have been at my house by myself or out with friends and they wouldn’t know what to do,” he said. “I’m thankful I was in a situation where there were professional people that could really help me out.”

He recently transferred to Arrowhead and plans on going out for sports this year. He’s confident when he hits the court, he’ll be in good hands.