On Oct. 5, the Knights were about 15 minutes into a routine practice at Crestwood Baptist Church when 17-year-old Josh Howard fell to the floor.
OKC Knight coach Randy Graham, had his back to Howard at the time but was quickly by Josh’s side.
“I picked up his head and thought he was having a seizure,” Graham said. “His jaw was just clinched tight, and his arms were locked up near his chest.”
Graham worked to give Howard breaths while 911 was called. Most of Howard’s Knights teammates were on the floor almost immediately after Howard went down, praying for their fallen teammate.
Paramedics were at Howard’s side in less than 10 minutes.
Twice before leaving the gym, Howard received shocks from a defibrillator. He had to be shocked another time when he got to the hospital.
First, he was taken to St. Anthony’s. Doctors there determined the damage to his heart was too severe for them to treat, so once he was stabilized, he was moved to Children’s Hospital.
For three days, Howard remained in a coma. Graham walked into the hospital room at about 7:30 a.m. that morning. “Hey, Coach,” Howard said as he rolled over. If nothing else, Howard was awake and alert.
“There’s no other word to describe it other than grateful,” Graham said. “I’m so thankful, and I know that Jack and Debbie Howard, his parents, are as well.”
“On Oct. 5, I was hoping he would live. I had no hope that he would live. He was blue. I couldn’t even have dreamed of him being where he is right now. We call him our miracle.”
