HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — What started as a typical day for a Hudsonville family quickly changed when a seemingly healthy high school athlete had a medical emergency at home. Thankfully, his dad knew what to do and they have a message to others in West Michigan during American Heart month.
“Wake up, going to school. Going to football practice. On the weekends, trying to get some field work in, hang out with friends, stuff like that,” said Jake.
That was Jake Chapman’s daily routine, until September 27th.
“Honestly I think Chad and I looked at each other and said that if our son can walk out of the hospital, that will be the biggest miracle ever,” said Rachel Chapman.
“We were talking and all of sudden I hear this noise that I had never heard before. I thought he was choking, and he may have been. Cardiac arrest was the furthest thing from my mind,” said Chad Chapman.
His parents, Chad and Rachel, thought he was possibly have a seizure because of a concussion he got during a game the week before.
“I could tell he wasn’t breathing. And I remember starting CPR and I check for a pulse, couldn’t get a pulse so I started doing chest compressions,” said Chad.
Jake went into sudden cardiac arrest. Something they never saw coming.
“We have a pretty strong family bond and I just remember thinking, oh my gosh, we only have two kids. It was just so….so heartbreaking,” said Chad.
As Chad continued CPR, Rachel called 911. Jake was taken to Helen DeVos children’s hospital where the Chapman’s waited.
“We still thought the heart stopped as a result of something else. The concussion, a seizure, choking. The fact that he had had a sudden cardiac arrest, you hear about athletes having enlarged hearts that they weren’t aware of. That is not what Jake had,” said Rachel.
Jake’s heart went into ventricular fibrillation, commonly known as Vfib. A life-threatening arrhythmia that causes poor blood flow and potentially sudden death. He was placed on a ventilator and in a medically-induced coma. Six days later, he woke up.
“I don’t really remember much,” said Jake.
His road through rehab and to recovery had begun. And so did his desire to get back on the court.
“Jake’s an athlete and he was going to do anything it took to get himself back out,” said Rachel.
The Saders basketball team was about to start the 2024 season. Not yet cleared by his doctors, Jake was at practice every day. Sitting, watching, hoping.
“He started day one with us at practice. He couldn’t do anything at that point in time but stand around, shoot a little bit but not much even that. So that was a little difficult for him but he was here every day,” said Unity Christian boys basketball coach Scott Soodsma.
Shocking his doctors and parents, Jake was soon cleared to return to basketball little by little.
“It felt weird, the first time running. It felt weird going through all of that again. But it feels good to be back and to practice and play. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone,” said Jake.
“You could see his smile get bigger and a little brighter every day that he got to participate and now we’re at a point where it’s not totally off limits yet but it’s very workable,” said Soodsma.
Jake checked in to his first game of the season back on January 17th. He’s didn’t play much that night. But his minutes continue to increase.
“It feels really good. Just to be back and playing in front of that crowd and stuff like that. You just can’t ask for that type of stuff,” said Jake.
His comeback, complete.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of the hospital every year. Just 10% of people survive. With Jake being a part of those lucky few, he and his family now are on a mission to teach others how to perform CPR and have a plan.
Matt Johnson from the American Heart Association worked with the boys basketball team at Unity to teach them CPR and stresses that the best thing you can do is to help.
“So a lot of people think that when they jump in to perform hands only CPR that they could injure that person. Well, they’re already by nature dead, right? So there’s nothing that you can do but to help them in that situation. It could double or triple the persons chance at survival,” said Matt.
Jake is alive today because his dad had a plan.
“And just acting on it. there’s no scarier or helpless feeling than a loved one laying at your feet, not breathing, no heart rate and you don’t know what to do. I just want to beg to people to make sure that you know what to do. Because I could not imagine if the results were different,” said Chad.
The Chapman family encourages everyone to go on the American Heart Associations YouTube page and watch a quick two minute video on how to perform CPR. It’s always better to have that information and never use it, versus being in a situation where it’s needed and not knowing what to do.
Jake did have an ICD device put into his lat muscle. It’s a device that can shock his heart in the event he goes into Vfib ever again. But for now he’s healthy, he and the Saders start district play this week on Wednesday.
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