LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Kammerer Middle School (KMS) is Noah Mattingly’s favorite place. But even before his dismissal earlier this week, his favorite place became the site of his parents’ worst nightmare.

In the chilly November air on Tuesday, 11-year-old Noah Mattingly began to feel dizzy. At first, his teacher thought he had sunstroke. She told him to sit on a bench. Then his heart stopped.

“As soon as I saw him, I knew he was in distress,” said Stephanie Speer, a nurse at Kammerer Middle School.

The sixth grader went into sudden cardiac arrest caused by a birth defect no one knew he had. He had turned blue, his breathing slow and labored.

Speer looked at the young student he knew very well and knew something was wrong.

“We didn’t think he was with us because of the way he was breathing,” Speer explained. “I know this kid. He comes to see me every day. He is a character. i love him And I thought, “Oh my God, no. It’s Noah.”

“We didn’t have a heartbeat for at least two minutes,” said Jack Miller, KMS safety administrator. “And you believe the worst. “Oh, not here, come on,”

But at that moment, a group of KMS employees put their emotions aside. They had trained for this every year. An AED was in Miller’s hands in less than 60 seconds, delivered by school security monitor Shannon Pierce. Two seconds behind her came the deputy director of KMS, Brain Aulick, ran with a second.

“The training that we go through every year has definitely given (Miller) the confidence to pull out the pads and say let’s go,” Aulick explained. “Everybody knew the count. Everyone knew rescue breathing. Training is essential.”

Several rounds and seven grueling minutes later, a lifeless Noah let out a hopeful sound.

“That first gasp of air was probably the best thing I ever heard,” Pierce said.

That powerful electric shock from an AED was the difference between life and death for Noah.

“He wouldn’t be here today. Noah would have had sudden cardiac death,” said Dr. Adam Skaff, a Norton Childrens cardiologist and director of Project Adam, an organization aimed at expanding AED access and training. “Without urgent action by the school, early CPR, early AED placement and defibrillation, sudden cardiac arrest can turn into sudden cardiac death.”

“Kammerer Middle School has been his guardian angels,” said Christina Mattingly, Noah’s mother. “They saved his life. If they hadn’t done what they did, Noah wouldn’t be here,” added Anthony Mattingly, his father.

EMS arrived shortly after school staff restarted Noah’s heart. Doctors later discovered he had an undiagnosed birth defect called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which causes sudden cardiac arrest.

On Tuesday, his heart was giving off extra signals, becoming overworked, until it stopped altogether. He had an extra electrical pathway in his heart that doctors at Norton Children’s Hospital had to remove.

Noah’s parents want his story to serve as an example of why AEDs should be everywhere.

“Every school needs these cars,” Christina said. “All staff must be trained in CPR.”

“And that if you save one child a year, it’s worth it,” added Noah’s father.

Tuesday was the only time this group of employees, in nearly two decades, had to use AEDs at KMS. Aulick can’t remember another time that happened in the 17 years he worked at the school.

“AEDs are life-saving equipment, and we’re lucky to have some here,” Pierce said. “If we didn’t have that, I don’t think it would have completely worked without that machine.”

While KMS has had AEDs for several years, JCPS took steps to put them in all schools last year. Kentucky lawmakers followed suit this year, mandating that all schools in the commonwealth do the same.

As his recovery continues, now the only thing on his mind is returning to his favorite place, Kammerer Middle School.

Noah’s parents think he should be able to go back to school early next week.

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