Viera H.S. lacrosse player collapses from cardiac arrest

VIERA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - As the Viera High School boy's varsity lacrosse team took the field for Tuesday night's game, there was one junior varsity player missing.

Tenth-grader Colin Seely should have been there, supporting his fellow Hawks. Instead, he was at a local children’s hopstal fighting for his life. 

He collapsed the day before during ROTC training from a cardiac arrest.

Head football coach Derek Smith and Col. Tim Thomas we’re outside when Colin was running laps. They were the first ones by his side when he collapsed.

“When I turned him over, he was already turning purple and there was just a light pulse,” Thomas said.

“Worrying about the kid not making it and having to look someone in the eye and that kid didn't make it, that was the scary part.” Smith said.

The coaches called over for the school’s AED machine, and administering CPR. Minutes later, medics arrived. 

Colin’s medical emergency happened at the same time districts around Central Florida are debating whether to test student athletes for heart conditions. 

Osceola County is moving forward, even offering to help test those who cannot afford to pay for it. Brevard County has not come to a decision yet.

Orlando nursing school student, Lexi Sima, is a Viera High School graduate. She also suffered from cardiac arrest when she was 16 years old. 

“You cannot put a price on a life. It’s just that simple,” she said.

She and her dad now go to high schools around the area administering EKG tests to high schoolers. The group "Who We Play For" then sends the tests to local cardiologists.

Coach Smith and Col. Thomas say they're not heroes. They credit the AED machine and want every school in Brevard County to have one.