Blind Brook Basketball Player Collapses During Pelham Tournament
Photo courtesy of Jonah Schoen
Jonah Schoen, left, gives a thumbs up in the hospital after his sudden collapse.
January 19, 2018
With 1:31 remaining in the first quarter of the varsity boys basketball game against Blind Brook on December 27, a player on the opposing team unexpectedly fell to the floor in the middle school gym. Jordan Schoen, a 17-year-old member of Blind Brook’s varsity boys basketball team, collapsed backwards, hitting his head. He suffered a seizure which caused him to go into cardiac arrest.
The school trainer, a local police officer, and two doctors from the stands rushed to his side, while the crowd watched in shock. Pelham police officer, Detective Hynes, jumped into action, defibrillating the player and performing CPR while he was in cardiac arrest. Schoen was successfully revived and was said to have strong pulses when EMS Express and firefighters arrived to the scene. The game, part of the Pelham Holiday Hoops Tournament, was suspended following these unfortunate events.
Pelham Coach Mark Finegan witnessed the player’s collapse and escorted his team to their locker room during the tragedy.
Coach Finegan said, “It was difficult for anyone to watch. I’ve been coaching for 28 years and I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Interestingly, the best place this could happen was here because you know you’re going to have medical treatment on you right away,” Coach Finegan added.
After undergoing treatment and examination, the Blind Brook player was reported to have had an unknown prior heart condition.
Pelham’s center and number 50 on the court, senior Tyler Constable, was checking in to the game when he witnessed the player throw his arms in the air and drop to the ground.
Tyler said, “It was definitely a scary moment for all of us. We had no idea how to react to a situation like this. All we could hope was that he was going to be okay, and it was hard to wait for that news to be released.”
Schoen apparently had never suffered a seizure on or off the court. Nor was he aware of the his pre-existing condition making the incident especially shocking.
Fortunately, Schoen was reported to be in a stable condition largely due to the quick thinking and actions of the first responders and medical staff at the game.
