Nyla Banks and her mom are filled with gratitude, after they say the 10-year-old girl's track coach saved her life Tuesday night.
“She had a cardiac arrest. But because of his CPR, it brought her back,” said Banks' mother, Domeanic Carter-Banks.
Nyla was at track practice at W.T. White High School in Dallas when it happened.
“While we were running, I felt dizzy," she said. "My head was hurting, and my chest was hurting. I don’t know what happened after that."
“She turns around and as soon as she did, she blacked out and hit the track and fell,” said Earle Smith, head coach for the Iconic Track Club.
“Coach said there’s no heartbeat. We can’t get a heartbeat. It was the scariest moment because it got crazy pretty quick,” Carter-Banks said.
His CPR training - from 10 years ago - kicked in.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“I never did CPR since I did training, and for it to be so needed at that time, I advise everybody to do CPR training,” he said.
Banks needed open heart surgery to correct a heart condition she’s had since birth.
“It was a ticking time bomb. She could have been outside and she could have just fallen into cardiac arrest and died,” her mom said.
She’s a brave girl who said she can’t wait to go home.
“I think it’s great, because I get to see my family again,” Banks said.
“We’re grateful he was able to save our daughter’s life the way that he did,” Carter-Banks said.
“I’m not a coach. This is my ministry. There are so many kids who don’t have a positive male role model, and I want to be that,” Smith said.
