Life
10-year-old girl has cardiac arrest during track practice – then coach saves her life
Nyla Banks collapsed at track practice amid a routine run. Fortunately, her coach was there to save her life.
Blake Hyatt
02.28.20

Track coach Earle Smith operates in Dallas, Texas. He likens his work to a ministry and makes sure all his pupils fall in line, work hard, and benefit both in athletics and in life.

All accounts show that he’s a great role model for the all-female members of his Iconic Track Club at W.T. White High School. To Nyla Banks, though, he transcends the role of a coach – he’s a hero. Not a fictitious Superman, but a real-life savior of sorts.

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Nyla was a regular track member at W.T. She had been a member of the team for some time and had no prior known incidences of physical-related issues.

Among the final days of January, in an unexpected moment, Earle Smith saved Nyla’s young life.

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It was a regular day at track practice when Nyla began feeling dizzy amid a routine run. She became disoriented and quickly hit the ground – a full-blown emergency that required immediate medical attention.

Nyla recalls her state, later telling NBC Dallas-Fort Worth about the incident, “My head was hurting, and my chest was hurting. I don’t know what happened after that.” The entire situation came as a surprise, seemingly out of nowhere.

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Fortunately, Earle was trained in CPR, although it had been 10 years since he had undergone training. In fact, Earle had never performed CPR on a person in need in his life. But he didn’t hesitate – within a few moments, Earle used his prior knowledge to bring Nyla back from the brink.

Her mother, Domeanica Carter-Banks at the time stated, “coach said there’s no heartbeat. We can’t get a heartbeat. It was the scariest moment because it got crazy pretty quick.”

Nyla was necessarily checked into the hospital.

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Doctors notified Nyla’s family that she had suffered a cardiac arrest from a prior-existing congenital heart condition, requiring emergency surgery.

Cardiac arrests are similar to heart attacks, but with a significant difference. The former occurs when the heart completely stops beating, while the heart continues to beat during a heart attack amid blocked flow of blood to the heart, according to news-medical.net.

Her mother relayed this information to NBC Dallas-Forth Worth, stating “She had a cardiac arrest. But because of his CPR, it brought her back.”

If not for coach Earle’s quick thinking, Nyla would likely be dead. Fortunately, Nyla’s body persisted on the track and in the hospital. Fortunately, she was in capable hands throughout the entire process.

A few short days after being checked into the hospital, Nyla was up and answering questions. She was eager to get back to her class and friends, and her friends yearned to see her, as well.

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Ultimately, coach Earle solidified himself as a real-life hero. Her mother said, “we’re grateful he was able to save our daughter’s life the way that he did.”

The coach, or “minister,” hopes to foster knowledge of CPR to students and others interested in physical fitness – one never knows when an emergency situation like Nyla’s will arise. He prefers that those associated with a physical fitness team or group be trained in CPR for these very instances. In moments least expected, simple medical knowledge can mean the difference between life and death.

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