A mother from North Carolina is credited with saving her 17-year-old daughter who experienced cardiac arrest while warming up for a cheer competition. The mother and her daughter were attending a cheer competition on Sunday at Raleigh Broughton High School. The teenager, Keianna Joe, is a competitive cheerleader.
Keianna was practicing a routine with her team, when she suddenly collapsed. At that point, her mother stepped in to administer CPR while they waited for medics to arrive. The mother also used an automated external defibrillator machine after the chest compressions and breaths were not working, reported NBC 15 News.
The teen was unresponsive.
Andrea Joe, Keianna's mom, shared that her daughter landed a stunt while practicing for the cheer competition but became unresponsive afterwards.
âThey had just gotten finished with the very first stunt,â Andrea Joe told NBC 15 News. "At that point of the stunt, they come down to where the girls are holding her in a seated position. And when she got to that position, she was unresponsive."
Andrea used an AED to save Keianna's life while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
They thought Keianna may have been having a seizure, but found she didnât have a pulse when her mom stepped in to save her daughterâs life. Andrea administered CPR and once she realized that wasnât working, she used an AED. A post on a GoFundMe page started by Keiannaâs aunt, Jennifer Cowan, shared that her mother had to do several rounds of CPR before using the AED to give an electric shock.
âMy sister, Andrea, got to her side and took over CPR, administering about 3 rounds before placing an AED and giving her 1 shock," she wrote. "She started breathing but was still unresponsive. CPR continued until paramedics arrived where she was rushed to the hospital, still unresponsive. While at the hospital, Keianna had 3 more seizures and coded once again, so the decision was made to intubate her.â
The GoFundMe will help the family with medical expenses.
So far $20,000 has been raised. According to an update posted on the GoFundMe page, Keianna is recovering. âKeianna has been in the hospital for the last week undergoing tests and MRIâs on her heart preparing for surgery today to place an ICD device. She has been doing ok – sleeping a lot – focusing on her mental health. She is very nervous and anxious about surgery as well as what her new normal will be going forward," Keianna's aunt shared on March 13.
The GoFundMe page notes that they can only speculate what might have caused the incident, âWe are unsure exactly what caused this incident, and can only speculate that her heart went into arrhythmia from a combination of dehydration, too much caffeine from an energy drink, and exercise. Please consider donating to Keiannaâs fund as she continues to fight.â
The incident highlights the importance of having an AED available.
The Joe family hopes this incident highlights the importance of AEDs and raises awareness about the need for having AEDs available at sporting events where children and teens compete. Andrea said, âIf we can save one life just with the knowledge of how important it is to get that AED and that every facility that has any kind of athletes in there children at all, they need to have one,â reported NBC News 15.
