When 15-year-old Evan Tucker collapsed during baseball practice, everyone on the field froze, except one mom who ran straight into action.
Johnette Wilmot had just finished watching her own son try out for a travel team in Alabama when she saw Evan drop to the ground. At first, people thought he’d been hit by a ball or maybe was having a seizure. But the truth was even more terrifying, Evan had gone into sudden cardiac arrest.
“I learned CPR in high school and I’ve never had to use it in 40 years,” Wilmot told WBRC News. “I just kept humming Stayin’ Alive,” she said, referencing the Bee Gees song that’s known for matching the rhythm of chest compressions.
What happened next felt nothing short of miraculous. Wilmot dropped to the ground and began CPR, eight whole minutes of life-saving compressions until an ambulance arrived. Evan was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where doctors had to shock his heart to restart its rhythm.
“If it hadn’t been for Johnette… my son would not be here today,” said Evan’s mom, Samantha. “Miracles happen.”
Evan had just finished his freshman baseball season at Pinson Valley High School and was trying out for the summer team when everything changed. Thanks to Wilmot’s fast thinking and long-remembered training, he survived. After several days, Evan’s condition stabilized. If physical therapy keeps going well, doctors say he’s on track to make a full recovery.
A family friend even launched a GoFundMe to help the Tuckers with the growing hospital bills.
“If you ask me,” Samantha said, “divine intervention deserves all the credit, and some long-remembered CPR too.”
And we think Johnette Wilmot just redefined what it means to be a team player.
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