A Lewisville middle schooler returns to class two weeks after cardiac arrest.
Monday was Flavio Longoria's first day back to class at Huffines Middle School in Lewisville. He collapsed on the soccer field and turned blue two weeks ago.
"We were running, doing sprints, and I just got lightheaded and fainted," Flavio said. "Next thing I knew, I woke up, and paramedics were all around me."
The 14-year-old soccer player's heart had stopped beating. While coaches started CPR, a school nurse shocked Flavio with an automated external defibrillator.
State law requires every public school in Texas to have one.
"It's just amazing they knew what to do," said his mother, Gina Rodriguez. "[They] had the machine and were able to bring him back, because he was gone for a minute."
Doctors told Flavio he would not have survived if not for the quick thinking of his coaches and the school's nurse.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"I thank God they were there," Rodriguez said. "I know God placed the right people there to save his life."
Her son spent several days in Medical City Hospital.
Surgeons placed a permanent defibrillator in his chest that will automatically shock his heart if it ever stops again.
"I feel like I'm a new mom," Rodriguez said. "I feel like I have an infant baby. I don't know how to move forward and let him go."
Monday was a big first step. But it may be a few months before Flavio returns to soccer.
"I feel glad and happy," he said. "I know God has a plan for me."
