Angel City FC’s young, rising soccer star, Savy King, is on the road to recovery after collapsing on the field during a game last week. Thanks to his history of heart issues, the 20-year-old athlete went into immediate cardiac arrest. His medical staff scrambled to get him to the hospital once he went unresponsive. In fact, it was the rapid response of her medical team that prevented her death. Fortunately, the stadium’s emergency response crew moved quickly into action to help her.
The foul took place during a home game at Angel City FC’s home pitch, BMO Stadium, in Los Angeles. Fortunately for Hollie Walusz, Temple University’s head athletic trainer, she didn’t hesitate to begin chest compressions. To this resounding applause, the medical team rushed to her side and used an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). This lifesaving intervention would turn out to be essential in keeping King stable until advanced medical care could arrive.
Dr. Richard Kim, director of congenital cardiac surgery at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Collaborating with a team of doctors, he conducted open-heart surgery on King, successfully repairing her condition. After the lifesaving procedure was completed, King was able to share her overwhelming appreciation for the team that she says saved her life.
“I wouldn’t be here without them. I can’t even continue talking about it, because … there’s not enough, like, anything I can give them. But the rest of my career, the rest of my life is for them,” – Savy King.
King took the opportunity to thank her mothers’ continual support in the most traumatic moment of her life. She expressed her admiration for them and how they motivated her on her road to recovery.
“That will stay with me forever in my heart, and just knowing that I get to play in front of them too and see that they were a huge reason why I’m here is, like, I play for them too now,” King added.
The Angel City FC medical team acted quickly to initiate immediate care when the incident occurred. Sarah Smith, US Soccer’s vice president of medical and performance, played an important role in orchestrating this essential response. Smith added to the importance of having the full team of medical staff at the ready when the crisis hit.
“For it to happen on that night, in our home stadium, where we had our entire medical team there, it was incredible work of that group and the timing that … it actually happened to be able to have the outcome that we had,” – Sarah Smith.
After surgery, King was back at practice for the first time since her collapse. Looking back on the experience, she told us how vividly she still recalls everything from that evening.
“There’s actually a lot that I don’t remember,” she revealed. But I remember before then I just didn’t feel good and I just remember I think I was grabbing on to my leg because I was trying to focus on anything other than the fact that I felt like I was gonna faint. But then … I’ll never forget the medical personnel who stormed the field.
King’s spirit is remarkable and evident as she opens up about her aspirations of playing on the U.S. national team. She expressed optimism about her recovery, stating, “I was just so happy that I was gonna be able to recover and be as normal and almost be like a Savy 2.0 now.”
Looking ahead, she reassured fans and teammates alike with her commitment to return stronger than before. “So I’ll be back, and I’ll be better than ever.”
