- So this next story is simply remarkable.
Earlier this year, 10 year old, Nyla
was at a routine track practice,
when she suddenly collapsed.
Her heart just stopped.
Nyla's life was nearly cut short,
that was until her coach performed lifesaving CPR,
bringing the young runner back to life.
Please welcome Nyla and her mom, Domeanica.
(audience applauds)
Y'all give it up for them.
So Nyla, what do you remember about that day?
- So first, I had walked out the car from a quick nap,
and I had went and did my laps up and down the track.
Then I had came to get a drink of water from my coach,
and he told me to slow down.
Then I started to feel dizzy and my chest started to hurt,
and then I just passed out.
And then I had woke up, the ambulance and the police
was surrounding me.
Some of the people from the track team were there too.
And also when I had woke up
I noticed that my teeth were bloody
and my nose was scratched up.
- That's scary.
Waking up and not knowing what happened.
- Yeah.
- Oh my gosh.
Domeanica, you were at the practice, right?
- Yes.
- But you weren't there first, right?
You didn't see it actually happen.
The coach ran over, right?
- Right.
I was actually in the car working on my computer
with my one year old,
and all of a sudden, I hear some yelling.
And I was startled a little bit,
and that's when the coach came over
and he was carrying Nyla.
And he said Nyla has passed out, and she was unconscious,
and that's when he said that her pulse was weak.
I ran over to an off-duty officer
that just happened to be there.
And then we both went over there,
and at that point, her coach had her on the ground,
and he said, he wasn't getting a heartbeat at all.
And so it got crazy, pretty quick.
- I can't even imagine.
I mean, we have kids too.
I can't even imagine panicking in that moment.
So what did the doctors say happened?
'Cause she's so young.
- Well, what ended up happening is,
at the scene her coach gave her CPR,
and it ended up saving her life.
So once we got to the hospital
the doctors decided they wanted to do a couple of tests,
but the funny thing is that they came back normal.
So they decided to do some blood work,
and it came back elevated.
And they kept us overnight,
and it was the next day,
that they said, you know what,
Nyla has a heart abnormality
that has been there since birth.
And our minds were blown.
And they said it was basically a ticking time bomb
that could have happened at any time,
and so they said, she's gonna have to have
emergency heart surgery tomorrow morning.
- Wow. - Yes, ma'am.
- That is super scary. - It is.
- I mean, super lucky that at least when it did happen,
they said it was a ticking time bomb,
that it happened around somebody who knew CPR.
- Yes, amazing. - That's a blessing.
- A blessing, major blessing.
- I mean, y'all's minds...
I can't even imagine as a mom and knowing
my little kid's going go in there,
you're like take me, I'll do it.
- Yes.
- They're so little, you know?
- Yes, ma'am.
- So you have a plan thought, right?
To make sure everybody knows CPR, right?
- We do.
We are starting the phase of working on our foundation,
it's called The Swift Heart Foundation.
It's going to educate other teams
and other athletes about CPR,
but most of all, helping them to get defibrillators.
Because a lot of teams are mobile,
and they don't have access to those things.
And also to educate athletes about heart health.
- So do any of y'all know CPR?
Do you know CPR?
- I do, I do.
- I took a class once I had a kid, I freaked out,
and I didn't want one to choke,
so I took a CPR class.
Do you know?
- Yeah, I definitely need to brush up on it,
'cause I feel like that's one of those things,
that in the moment you go, oop, and--
- You panic. - Yeah.
- It's amazing, I'm really glad you're sitting here with us.
- Thank you.
- So how are you doing now?
Are there are things you have to do now?
- I'm doing really good,
but the fact that my coach gave me CPR is pretty disgusting.
(Kelly laughs) (audience laughs)
- [Domeanica] Oh, Lord.
- That is such a kid thing.
It was pretty gross, he had mouth in his,
I was like, nah.
That's awesome.
You can laugh about it, we're at a good point.
- [Domeanica] Yes.
(Domeanica laughs)
- Well, there's a very important part of this story
that we're missing.
Let's bring him out, everybody welcome Coach Earl.
(audience applauds) (mellow music)
I'll put you...
Or you can sit wherever you'd like, man.
Okay, first of all, you're like a real-life superhero.
I said that in the card and I meant it.
No, because I was telling them,
like I've taken CPR classes,
but still there's a panic mode.
You know?
- Yeah, and I'm normally not relaxed like that.
So for me to be relaxed at that particular time,
it was great.
- I mean, take us back to that day.
What were you thinking when she fell?
- Well, it's a normal conditioning day,
and on normal conditioning days,
for Nyla to not be breathing correctly for like 30 seconds
it was kind of strange to me.
So I was like, Nyla, you have to breathe for me.
And so I'm noticing that she still can't breathe,
so she turns away from me,
and when she turns away from me, she just collapsed.
So I run over to her, Nyla, Nyla, Nyla,
and I'm started to notice her eyes rolling back in her head,
so I pick her up.
And she's on the opposite side of the track,
I ran all the way across the field to the other side
where her mom was parked.
And by then, I'm noticing
that she's lifeless in my arms now.
So then I'm getting to the point to where now
I'm gonna have to do CPR.
So now I'm doing CPR on her,
and I'm trying to get her back to breathing,
and she finally takes that breath,
and I'm like, oh, thank you.
The reason why it was so special to me,
and y'all might not know this,
but my dad literally passed in front of me at six years old.
So a lot of people don't know that,
but he had an acute asthma attack
and me and my brother, he's like seven years old than me,
so we both don't know how to do CPR at that time,
so there was no control that we had in that situation.
So for me to be able to have control in this situation
all for a CPR class I took 15 years ago,
and never used it 'til that day.
To have control of that situation,
it made me feel real good, and it made me feel great.
- Oh my God.
Well, do y'all wanna say anything to him?
I mean, I can imagine as a momma, you were like...
I can't imagine.
I think I'd just constantly give you gifts every week.
- Yes, yes, yes. - I think I would just
keep buying you things to say, thank you.
- Well, my husband and I are just so grateful
for you, Coach Earl.
You know, you are near and dear to our heart,
how loyal we are to you.
And for you to give such a lifesaving gift
to our daughter, it's just mind-blowing.
But you know, track for you is not just another sport,
it's a ministry.
Every child that comes through that door,
you just love on them,
and you bring the best out of them,
so we're just grateful for you, doing what you did.
And I know that so many great things
are gonna come forth for you, for that.
Thank you.
- Aw, thank you, thank you, thank you.
(audience and guests applaud)
- I will say, my favorite thing I've heard today,
was her going, I mean, he saved my life,
but it was kind of gross, 'cause he gave me CPR.
(Kelly laughs)
Look at her, she's like, I stand by what I said.
(everyone laughs)
It is an amazing thing,
and I know that it's a horrible thing that happened,
but what you're doing with The Swift Heart Foundation,
and educating people to know CPR,
your life might save other people's lives through this.
- [Domeanica] That's so true.
- So that is the real testimony here.
- It is. - That's the real story, here.
And thank you so much for sharing it with us.
- Most definitely. - Yes.
- This is a scary time.
- Thank you for having us.
- Oh, no, thank you so much.
(audience applauds)
All right, well, we actually
have another little surprise for Nyla.
Joel, Grace, and Duff, do y'all wanna help me out with it?
- Yeah, yeah. - Okay.
- There is someone here who was inspired by Nyla's story,
she is a three time Olympic medalist in track,
she wants to meet you, Nyla, in person.
- Say hello to Carmelita Jeter.
- [Kelly] Yeah!
(audience applauds)
- Hi. - Meet Nyla.
- Come and give me a hug, girl.
I brought my medals for you, you wanna put them on?
Yeah.
- Y'all have a seat. - Come on, let's sit down.
- And you need to show those off, they sound so heavy.
- Yes, yes.
There you go. - Oh my gosh.
- Oh, God, I'm sorry.
Coach Earl, it's nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- You are gorgeous. - Thank you, thank you.
- I mean, listen...
Oh, I was hugging you first, I went in first.
So Carmelita, what do you wanna say?
As a runner, I mean, it's a very physical thing that you do,
and there can be scary times.
What do you wanna say to Coach Earl, that's pretty cool.
- You know, I heard your story, Coach Earl.
And you know, I coach at Missouri State University now,
and the number one thing that I heard was
you care about your athletes.
- Have to.
- And when a coach cares about their athletes,
the athlete will run through a brick wall for them.
Please continue showing love. - I will.
- Because that is the one thing that makes things happen.
- I will.
(audience applauds)
- I'm floored.
What do you wanna say to Nyla though, who loves running?
- You are so gorgeous, you know that right?
- Thank you.
- First off, I am so glad that you're healthy,
and you're here with us.
I want you to continue resting.
Rest is very, very important.
You know the number one thing I didn't do
when I tore my quad.
I tried to get back out there too quick, too fast,
and I should've rested a little more.
So let's play a little patience with this,
just a little bit of patience.
But then when you're back there on that track,
I want you to burn it up.
- [Kelly] Yes!
(audience and guests applaud)