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This saved teen’s life when she had heart attack during volleyball game

Posted at 2:52 PM, Feb 04, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-04 14:52:51-05

WALTON COUNTY, Ga. – The parents of a teen in Georgia are expressing their gratitude to the coaches who helped save their daughter’s life when she suffered a heart attack during a volleyball game.

Video of the traumatic event showed 17-year-old Claire Crawford falling to the floor as staff and coaches rush to her side.

That's when the dean of the school rushed to the school's defibrillator and then used it to revive her.

"I woke, she was in my face everybody was yelling felt like they were yelling, but apparently they weren't," Claire recalled.

Her family said Claire had seen several doctors prior to the game, but there were no warning signs before she felt strange.

"Burning down my arm, down my left arm and my chest,” Claire said. “Like my heart felt like it was really working hard which it was."

Her father, Eric Crawford, was baffled because neither he nor his wife have a history of heart disease.

Now her family and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta are promoting a campaign to make sure everyone is prepared in case something like this happens again.

Claire said she is thankful for the dean’s quick actions and is glad that “if it happened to somebody else" the school would be ready since they were trained.

Doctors did find several unexplained blockages during an examination. Claire then underwent triple bypass surgery.