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Hundreds Witness ‘Miracle’ After Coach’s Heart Attack At Northview
September 14, 2015
Hundreds of people believe they witnessed a real miracle Saturday night during youth football games at Northview High School in Bratt.
The scene was a jubilant one on the Northwest Escambia side over the field after a win over Flomaton and a spirit line forming as their next team was about to get underway. The excitement was building; it had been a great homecoming day for the NWE Chiefs.
But that changed, literally in a heartbeat, as a NWE coach fell to the field in full cardiac arrest.
In the moments that followed, the pieces of a lifesaving puzzle quickly fell into place. Husband and wife medics, a doctor and other football fans trained in CPR rushed to the field, literally taking turns performing chest compression on the beloved coach. There was no AED and no advanced life support immediately available on the field. Fire and EMS arrived on scene several minutes later.
Around the stadium, the crowd began to pray. Entire football teams dropped to their knees in prayer. There were no team divisions, no rivals, no opponents…just the voices of prayer as CPR continued.
Shannon Nolen snapped the powerful photo at the top of the page as another NWE coach, Pastor Ted Bridges, was on his knees, hands on the ambulance in prayer with the fallen coach inside.
“In the middle of all the chaos everyone prayed together with Brother Ted as he lead us over the PA system,” witness Crystal Godwin said. “There was no lines of division between race, team or family, we were all as one and the Holy Spirit could be felt moving through the stadium.”
And then there was an answer.
“Someone came and faced the crowd from the back of the ambulance and gave a thumbs up and the stadium erupted with joy! There wasn’t a dry eye in the stadium.” CPR had worked.
“Coach….is stable which is a work of God after seeing his condition on that field,” Flomaton Youth Football League President William DeSpain said. “These 9-10 year old boys and girls did not get to play Saturday night, but they helped with a great accomplishment of answered prayer. They all won Saturday night.”
The NWE coach was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital, where family member said late Sunday he was expected to make a full recovery. A second member of the crowd was also airlifted to an area hospital in a second helicopter after suffering a medical problem.
Karen Jay and her husband Frank, owners of Atmore Ambulance, were off-duty and among those at the game that performed CPR on the coach.
“It truly was a miracle along with CPR that saved him,” Karen Jay said as she encouraged everyone to learn CPR. “But the Lord’s hand was on him. A whole lot of people witnessed a miracle.”
Pictured top and inset: Pastor Ted Bridges, who is also a NWE football coach, on his knees praying outside an ambulance as CPR is performed inside on another NWE coach. Flomaton football players on their knees praying for the NWE coach. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
91 Responses to “Hundreds Witness ‘Miracle’ After Coach’s Heart Attack At Northview”
God is so good. Put aa smile on my face the whole time i was reading to know that so many people still believe in prayer. All these players on all teams r just awesome kids and awesome players. God bless them
We lived in Escambia County many years ago and are so blessed to see what took place during what could have been a tragic event. We serve a mighty God who miraculously intervened on behalf of His praying people. What a testimony to the rest of the world. Blessings and prayers that the Lord continue the good work He has begun.
Awesome pictures of God’s people. These kids will forever remember joining together in prayer and witnessing this miracle. So thankful for all the awesome trained people in place!!
God Want us all to come together, the Scripture that come to mind God is a healer and he is our present help in the time of trouble. Yes Jesus Love us cause the Bible tells us so.
This is absolutely precious and is typical of how God works. God defies human logic. I have found this out from experience. I am not the only one. Things that happen are often called coincidences, and some may well be, but to those of us who are Christians, we have experienced a lot of supposedly “illogical” things that do literally defy human logic. I have mentioned this to many people through the years. If you want to know if God exists, then please don’t take my word or it, just ASK HIM YOURSELF. Faith is the key, and Jesus is the answer. And you CAN take my word on that. So whoever sent this in to Facebook. THANK YOU, and God bless you.
I was so moved by this that I posted I to Facebook.
“Proof is in the pudding”. GOD is alive and well! For al you that do not believe… Look out!
Time will tell, if ACLU or some other GODLESS group tries to push their agenda on you!
Praise the Lord that the coach survived!
Thank you God for hearing all the prayers going up to you for this man. We praise you and give you all the glory.
This is such a beautiful story. I was so touched by it and am sure that those that witnessed it first hand were deeply moved and forever changed by this miracle.I was so terrified to read so many negative comments from non believers last night and am so thankful that those of us who know that God is REAL have flooded the comments and pushed the negative out of sight. I can’t imagine how awful it would be to go thru life without knowing God and talking to him daily. I pray that the coach and his wife’s grandfather fully recover and that we all find an opportunity in all we do to gather together and pray often.
Power of prayer….cannot be denied…
The Lord is far from the wicked:
but
he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Proverbs 15:29
Judy Strait
I’m glad to hear and read stories like this.by the grace of GOD just maybe we can get prayer back in schools.Students are getting more in trouble than they use too.So I hope everyone keeps praying and these citizens that went to the hospital has a wonderful and blessed recovery.
I sincerely appreciate Northescambia.com sharing this miracle. It warned my heart to see the power of prayer on display in our community. I have also enjoyed reading the comments from other believers. Something happens when people get on one accord in faith and pray. Our God is an awesome God!
Amazing yet just goes to show God is alive and well and working in the hearts of others. So thankful it worked out the way it did and praying for a full recovery for him and for the other life-flighted individual as well.
They can take praying out of school, but they can’t take prayer from the people.
Thank god..just goes to show everyone God is there on the seen.its coming back ONE NATION UNDER GOD..I pray that coach has a speedy recovery. So glad to read that everyone came together and God was there too. We have a all mighty GOD. Thank you JESUS
I witnessed this. My sons game was to come and I noticed the commotion on the field. My wife who is a nurse practitioner and me, just your average guy ran out to help. She went in to help as I stopped and prayed with A few people who were On their knees with their hands raised toward heaven. Times like this brings the true believers out. Thank God for His mercy.
Love the positive message and how everykne is responding, these are the events we need reported and visible these days. Not the division and horrible deeds, but the loving, bring everyone together, grace of God messsges.
The power of prayer in numbers!! My heart is rejoicing at this image of All holding hands and calling on God Almighty !!
God really is……Real!!
The power of prayer at work! I am proud to live in the community I live in where no one hesitated to join in on the prayers in the stadium Saturday night. God is mighty!
I hardly need to add to the previous comments but, wow, what a powerful email. SO very glad the coach will be O.K.
Thanks to the medical personnel who just happened to be there.
Prayer still works! Praying for a full recovery!
Love this!! What an uplifting story! The power of prayer is amazing! Prayers for a full recovery!
I was there to witness it all as well. Such a wake up call!! The Good Lord is working y’all. Get ready because he is coming back!! He just proved shelf the real estate I’ve ever seen!! Thank you Lord for allowing Mr. Payne to be ok. When he collapsed all I could think of was his daughter. She was crying her eyes out, seeing her “dad” lay there on the ground. My daughter went over and hugged her and she said, “My Daddy is gonna be ok, God’s got this” that inspired me so much. Then as we go to leave I tell her I am praying for her and her family and she tells me the same, “God’s got this.” I say yes he does baby and sure enough he did!!! Thank you Lord one more time for all that you do!!
Our God is an Awesome God. So glad to see people come together in a time like this and I’m happy to know that the coach is doing well.
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” -Mathew 18:20
The power of group prayer is immeasurable. Praise God! His will and His timing is never wrong!
Praise the Lord for He is mighty. Thank Him for His love and care. It is wonderful that we have the freedom to worship and call on the Lord any time and any place. It also was a great witness to any unbeliever. God is with us all the time. We should always put Him first in everything. Prayer does change things. Let us keep a stand for the Lord. Amen
Hopefully they learn something from this close call and keep an AED with their equipment or somewhere close. This could have just as easily been a child on the field.
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). “13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13, 14).
When these people went to that football field, they did not go to “gather together in his name.” They went for fun. But when the need arose, they joined together with one purpose – to ask for God’s healing hand to be on the Coach. There is no doubt that God used his servants – the doctors, EMTs, Paramedics, etc – who were present to make the people’s prayers come to fruition. This is a testimony of how God uses US to do His work. I don’t know who all was there to respond, but I have known Frank Jay for almost thirty years, and I know how dedicated he and his staff are to helping others. Next time you see and EMT or LEO or FF, thank them. One day you may be on the receiving end of their services. And, a final thought, we should be “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” (Ephesians 5:20).
Our God is an Awesome God! Whether it was a miracle, divine providence or CPR, there is no doubt that God’s hand was in full control of the situation. Not to diminish anyone’s thoughts or beliefs as to what took place, just know that God allowed for the right ppl to be in the right place at the right time. God allowed for those ppl to have the knowledge of CPR to save this gentleman’s life. And no matter how one person perceives the situation vs another, the fact remains – our God is an awesome God and he reigns in Heaven and Earth. He deserves the glory, for it is only through and by our Almighty God that we take our next breath.
The power of prayer
The POWER of the ALMIGHTY GOD!
I’m with you “Redman”!! This amazing teamwork truly saved a life, in front of many childrens’ eyes, proving to never give up…….on ANYTHING!! In this case, a persons life, and this story needs to be told!
love that in a time of need they stopped to truly pray. God is the Healer. Praise God
The power of CPR??!! Moreover, the power of God! I thank the capable men and women of our county who helped to save this man, but to see all of these folks come together in prayer gives us hope for the world. May this coach make a FULL recovery!
God is great and he works fast and in mysterious ways. All you have to do is keep the faith and when you call on him he’s there for you. This indeed was a miracle. I’m glad Coach is okay. Thank you again Heavenly Father I can never thank you enough.
Praise tje Lord! He is still on the throne!!! Still performing miracle! Thank you Jesus!
The power of prayer. Amazing story.
The power of CPR!
I wish this story would go nationwide ! Come on CBS, NBC.ABC, FOX….where are you.Tired of bringing bad news.? here’s your chance…GO FOR IT !
HALLELUJAH!! Thank you for printing such an honest and clear story. It is amazing to see all of God’s children asking for his healing touch. With everything that is in the news being so negative, Thank you for highlighting the power of prayer. God bless the coach and his family. Thank you North Escambia.com for being such a full coverage publication. God Bless.
THIS is what living in a small town in the south is all about! God, Country, Family and Sports. They children are growing up learning what is important. Being Team Players and Serving God!
What an Amazing Testimony of Prayer. God is the Great Physician. And He knew that night that he had the right people in place. I pray that maybe a lost soul was touched by this also. God Speed to the Coach and the Crowd Member !!!!! GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME…. AND ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD !!!!!! Amen…..
It sounds like the coach would be a goner if the emergency responders had not performed cpr, great job first responders you guys work miracles!
Our God is AWESOME!!! For those that doubt because of the statement CPRsaves wrote that scripture is talking about when Jesus returns. Hebrews 13:8 says: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. This article is an example of what we need more and more of.
Wonderful!
It is so refreshing to see that there are still believers who are not ashamed to call on Jesus. He is our very present help in the time of trouble. Praise God.
thank u lord God was with them all the time God bless everybody get well coach
Amen! God will still work in America if enough people will let Him. This is just an amazing story about an Amazing God. Praise the Lord for all the medical people that helped, the people that prayed, and a God that answered.
Hope the other individual will be ok also.
Thank you William once again for sharing an inspiring and encouraging story.
I was there to witness this Miracle!! It was so heartbreaking to see Mr Payne laying on the field unresponsive.. Once everyone realized what was going on the stadium was silent.. Then prayer broke out all around.. There were individuals on ther knees on the field praying, teams praying together, groups of parents and grandparents praying together.. Everyone was praying! The whole stadium prayed as one.. It was eye opening.. It made you realize what really mattered.. God and Family matters the most! Thankfully the right people were there to do the CPR and the person was there to get the machine out of the school.. It was almost like everyone there was meant to be! Truly a miracle! God is Good All The Time.
PTL! There is power in prayer. There is power in the name of Jesus. Go to war against evil by prayer. To learn more, go see War Room, in theaters now.
Yes the good Lord was there
What a happy and good story for a change. Let him walk among his players again
From the Leavitt Family in Milton, FL
We have witnessed similar miracles in our family and church, and it never ceases to amaze me just how powerful prayer is to the believer. It is not often enough that we get a glimpse into the miraculous world of our Lord and Savior.
Our family is praying for everyone in this community for strength in adversity. There are many attacks, and not all of them are on the heart. Many attacks are aimed at our minds. Our prayers are for strength ,peace, and health. Amen
Praise the Lord for answered prayer! Glad to hear this coach is going to be okay. There is power in prayer folks and this is the proof.
Thank you Jesus!
Stand still and let God move……
You see God is a miracle working God; He hears the prayers of His people;
If you want to join His family He is there to receive you: Romans 10:9-10
God is so good! He is powerful! This is a beautiful story. So great to see that not only adults but children of all ages do still believe in God and ate not ashamed to show!!!
God is Great…now someone needs to make sure an AED is someplace close wherever crowds are…..
I was there witness the whole game my nephew had just finished playing that coaches team…as soon ad r went down everyone started praying I even heard a group singing at one point when I tell u the power of prayer is too real man I get chills when I think about all I saw
For all of the non-believers this shows that God is real! He can work miracles when we least expect it! So glad that this coach is going to make a full recovery!
As the devil has tried in all his might to… kill… steal…destroy…that night he lost once
again to believers in prayer to GOD… not only did just 1 person witness a miracle but many including some who may have never heard of God and the confused youth of this generation witnessed this power of prayer. Im stoked to see this in the news instead of all the Wars. They may have thought they took prayer out of school but god showed his glory on a packed public school football field. I’m glad to know that the coach got his heart jump started by God n is recovering. Look forward to his thoughts on that night. Just one more thing…. we ALL have seen n heard of other gods from different beliefs n background and how their God claims to heal… funny when it comes down to it in an emergency of need ALL take a knee and pray to Jesus…
There is POWER in the name of JESUS!! I’m glad the coach is recovering and that the community came together in accord to pray for him in his time of need. Speedy recovery wishes coming your way!
That is truly the Power of Prayer
God is truly amazing! He is still in the miracle business folks and he proved that Saturday night! My daughter is on the “Sophomore” cheer squad and had just made it off the field when this happened. To see our community and the Flomaton visitors come together as ONE to pray for this man’s life is something I will NEVER forget! God truly amazes me with his grace and love for us. Those of us that were there are forever changed by this. I have never been more proud to call this small community home!!
I myself had a cardiac arrest one year ago and if not for all of the people involved i would have
not made it
Thank you Lord YOU are ALWAYS on TIME! WE ARE TRULY BLESSED!
I’m so thankful & glad that everything are good with the both of them.we all pulled together in prayer & tears that night. Thank u Jesus for that wonderful blessing!!! To god be the glory!!!! My NWE family we love y’all!!!
Just goes to show God is always with us no matter what he is always on duty.
Never prouder to be a part of the NWE family. One of the main reasons we chose to play for this team was the great Christian leadership exemplified by the coaches and volunteers.
What doesn’t really come across in the article is the amount of time cpr was administered before the ambulance arrrived. They worked on him for roughly 15 minutes with no response. Anyone in the medical profession knows that people just don’t come back after being gone that long. This was an act of god and it was a life changing experience to witness. So proud of everyone involved and proud to say I live in a community where we aren’t scared to hit our knees and pray.
You did it again Lord, you did it again. Thank you.
And some folks want to take prayer out of school because why???? Hope the coach makes a full recovery. God is good all the time!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just lost my mom to cardiac arrest 3 weekz ago…we tried cpr and an ems responder was here within a minute…took too long to shock her back and we lost her. They say if you have no automatic emergency defribrlator your odds are around 1%. ..and go up to around 40% with..assuming the heart is still in Ventricular tachycardia and not fully stopped. Glad this gentleman made it…he is truely in the minority of those who survive cardiac arrest.
The power of prayer. Praise be to GOD, Glory on High.
Well done everyone
More of God’s hand at work: a staff member from Northview High School was also at the stadium watching the game and had keys to the building and was able to get the school’s AED which was used while the first responders waited for the ambulance.
The other victim who was taken by life flight to the hospital was the coach’s wife’s grandfather. He has a heart condition and was so stricken with anxiety over what was happening to the coach that he literally began having heart problems of his own. He was evaluated in the ER and allowed to go home not long after midnight that night.
The power of prayer is mighty. God is awesome. God is gracious. Praise be to Him!
Thank You God
So glad coach is going to be ok!!! The Lord works in mysterious ways and this was truly one of them. It was amazing to see how everyone came together as one to pray and to those that performed CPR my hats off to you guys that’s hard work and ya’ll kept it up for a while.
God is still letting us know he is real and still healing!!!!! TO GOD BE THE GLORY TO SEE PEOPLE COME TOGETHER FOR THE NEED THAT WAS AT HAND. GOD KNOWS HOW TO DO IT AND WHEN. WE SERVE AN AWESOME AND REAL GOD!!!!
I’m so glad the coach survived! God definitely had a hand but do not diminish the miracles of the Bible by calling it a miracle. CPR saved the coach, the right people were in the right place at the right time. Divine Providence more than a miracle. There is no “hocus pocus” in today’s Christianity, I’m sorry.
1 Corinthians 13:8-10
God bless this coach, the paramedics, and all who prayed for him! Coming together and praying is a right that we have. People are hungry for God.
God is good !! Glad everyone is gonna be ok !! The power of prayer is amazing! !
Beautiful. .there is power in prayer. My niece called for prayers for their coach. God’s ear is not heavy that he cant hear. Praise God for everyone uniting in prayer.
Beautiful. .there is power in prayer. My niece called for prayers for their coach. God’s hear us not heavy that he cant hear. Praise God for everyone uniting in prayer.
Now why can’t we do that all the time???
This is an amazing and refreshing story! Being a nurse I have witnessed a few TRUE miracles, where God had put all the right people in all the right places, at just the right time. I’m so delighted to see that a stadium full of people were able to witness something so magnificent! God is ALWAYS GOOD ! Best wishes for a speedy recovery for Coach and crowd member!
Was not there but heard about it!
*** GOD BE THE GLORY ***
God is amazing! Love reading articles like this, and praise God that he placed the right people in the crowd that night!
What an inspiring and amazing story. Here I am at work, literally across the world, and I can feel chills. Thank you, God, for the brilliant display of your mercy and power. I’m grateful that all parties involved were quick to respond to what could have been a very tragic night, and I’m also very glad that the coach is going to be okay. I pray that the other life-flighted individual will be okay, as well.