Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has been crowned a hero for helping save a three-year-old boy from drowning in a Las Vegas hotel pool.
Morris was with his family at the Encore at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas when he reportedly spotted a boy who had gone underwater, Fox News reported.
After the boy’s father pulled the unresponsive child from the pool, a lifeguard began attempting CPR. Morris says he immediately went looking for the hotel’s nearest AED [automated external defibrillator].
Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris of the Los Angeles Rams looks on during training camp at the University of California Irvine on July 29, 2022, in Irvine, California. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
“I saw people calling 911, so my first question was, where is the AED?” Morris told the media.
He added that by the time he returned with the device, a doctor was on hand to take over compressions.
“When I got back, we had a doctor on site that was able to start the compressions. I was able to hand the AED to him, get it open for him, put the pads on the child, and he ended up being OK,” Morris added.
Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris of the Los Angeles Rams holds practice in preparation for the Super Bowl LVI at the Rose Bowl Stadium on February 10, 2022, in Pasadena, California. The Rams play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Morris credits his NFL training for informing him about the impertinence of AEDs in the early stages of such emergencies.
“I’m just thankful I knew what to do,” Morris said. “You just never know when you’re going to need that stuff.”
An AED helped save Damar Hamlin early this year when he collapsed on the field with a cardiac arrest during a game in Cincinnati.
The child was reportedly revived. He was taken to a local hospital and discharged a day later, ESPN reported.
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