Williams comes home thankful

On April 9, 16-year old Daverick Williams was playing basketball in the old gymnasium at Flomaton High School when he collapsed. He had no pulse and he was not breathing.

This past Saturday, Williams was back at home in Flomaton after receiving a pacemaker at a Gainesville, Fla., hospital and if a doctor's appointment goes well this week he may be back in the classroom next week.

Williams mother, Chanina Williams, said without the use of an AED on her son, she would have been planning a funeral instead of welcoming her son home.

"I'm just so thankful to everyone," Mrs. Williams said. "From Coach Steele and the school nurses to the firemen and beyond."

Daverick says he has no memory of what happened. He said he remembers playing basketball and the next thing he remembers was when he was at the hospital in Gainesville.

After Daverick collapsed, Coach Leroy Steele dialed 911 and two school nurses began chest compressions. Within six minutes of the 911 call Fire Chief Steve Stanton and Fire Captain Jeremy Lee arrived with the AED. Both confirmed the Automated External Defibrillator instructed them that Daverick did not have a heartbeat and the AED advised to shock. After a second shock Daverick regained a pulse and started breathing. A Baptist Hospital LifeFlight helicopter landed on the football field and transported Daverick to Sacred Heart Hospital.

Mrs. Williams said Daverick underwent multiple tests at Sacred Heart and it was determined he had a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which she said means thickening heart muscles.

Mrs. Williams was at work in Brewton when her mother called to tell her Daverick had passed out. As she headed to her car she called the high school on her cell phone but someone told her they didn't know what was going on other than firetrucks and ambulances had arrived.

As she traveled toward Flomaton she was able to reach Coach Steele who told her he had passed out and was not responding.

She said when she arrived at the high school Daverick was inside the ambulance and she was told he had to be shocked twice and had a pulse. He was then transported to the helicopter and flown to Pensacola.

She said Cedric Odom drove her to Sacred Heart.

"I didn't get to talk to him until we got to Gainesville," she said, noting an ambulance from Gainesville came to Pensacola to transport Daverick back.

"God performed a miracle," she added.

Daverick and his mother said he had no prior symptoms before collapsing at the gym.

"As far as I know neither his father's side of the family or my side have this condition," she said.

But she did say genetic testing would be done, especially on Daverick's younger brother D'Angelo, who is 12 years old, to see if the condition is genetic.

Tuesday afternoon, Mrs. Williams said Daverick has a doctor's appointment later this week in Pensacola and if things go well, he'll be able to return to school.

Daverick chimed in and said he was ready to go back to school.

"There are just so many people I need to thank," she said as she sat on the couch with her son. "It was very scary."