RALEIGH, N.C. (WRAL) — A North Carolina family is sharing the story of their daughter's near tragedy at a cheerleading competition in hopes of raising awareness about the medical device that they say saved her life.
Keianna Joe is a 17-year-old student at Western Harnett High School in West Lillington, N.C., but she's a competitive cheerleader on a team in Sanford, N.C. Her mother says she was warning up at a competition on Sunday, March 5 in Raleigh at Broughton High School when suddenly, she was unresponsive.
"They had just gotten finished with the very first stunt," said Keianna's mother Andrea Joe. "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."
It was thought that she was having a seizure, but when a coach realized she didn't have a pulse, CPR was started.
Her mother jumped in to help save her daughter's life.
"And I had done two sets of compressions and breaths. And then I had looked over and toward my left side and I finally saw that the AED machine had got there," said Andrea.
Her mother put the paddles on the 17-year-old. The machine told her an electric shock was needed. She administered the shock and continued CPR until medics arrived.
Keianna was taken to Wake Med, then transferred to Duke Medical Center for a Cardiac MRI. It confirmed the teenager suffer a heart attack.
Her mother is just thankful an AED was available at the cheering competition.
"If we can save one life with the knowledge of how important it is to get that AED and that every facility that has any kind of athletes and children at all, they need to have one," said Andrea.
Keianna remains in the hospital getting treatment, but her mother is just thankful she's alive.
