Greg Long, 36, of Woodstock, a participant in the Shenandoah County Parks and Recreation Department’s 35-and-older men’s basketball league, went to substitute for a teammate after halftime, took three steps onto the court and instantly had a seizure, said his fiancee, Chastidy Romick.
Greg Long the Survivor
He tried to get up, took two deep breaths and quit breathing, turning blue, she said.
Players and county staff assigned to Central High School rushed to begin CPR.
“It felt like we were moving in slow motion,” said Terri Wymer, the gym supervisor in charge.
Rushing as fast as he could at the same time, Bill Simmons, a member of the team playing against Long’s squad, retrieved one of Central’s automated electronic defibrillators from a box mounted on the wall at the school’s entrance. A coach and teacher at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School, he, like other coaches, was trained to use the device in August.
The thinking, though, was that if there ever came a time to use the AED, it would not be on a healthy 36-year-old who had no known heart-related issues.
“Disbelief,” Simmons said.
With the help of others, he gave Long a shock before rescue personnel arrived and took control. They transported Long to Shenandoah Memorial Hospital and he was later transferred to Winchester Medical Center.
At SMH, Long was coherent but couldn’t remember anything, and complained only of his knees hurting, Romick said.
“It was definitely a joint effort on everybody’s part,” Wymer said.
“CPR wasn’t bringing him back,” Romick said. “Within 40 minutes [of getting shocked] he was talking to us. … If that defibrillator was not in there and someone was not there [trained] to use it, we would be planning his funeral right now.”.
