A Chaminade High School basketball player’s life was saved last week after he collapsed to the floor during a practice before being resuscitated by members of the staff.
P.J. Kellachan, a 17-year-old varsity player from Rockville Centre who is committed to play basketball at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, had a seizure and went into cardiac arrest Dec. 6 on the school’s Activities and Athletic Center Court.
For approximately 10 minutes, assistant coach Bob Paul and athletic trainer Jorge Vargas performed CPR on Kellachan after shocking him with an AED device when his heart stopped.
“Thank you to the amazing athletic and training staff at Chaminade who saved my life after seizing and losing a heartbeat. Unequivocally something I will never be able to repay them for. Flyers rule,” Kellachan tweeted two days later with a picture of himself, Paul and Vargas.
Kellachan was taken to NYU Langone that night and the senior forward returned to school Friday.
Since the incident, the team has shown no signs of slowing down. Standing at 4-1 on the season, the Flyers earned wins against Kings Park Dec. 8 and High School for Construction Dec. 10.
