Two AT&T Employees Show up for Basketball Game and Receive the Ultimate Test

Jason and Joe work together. They've also been playing basketball together for 15 years.

"One morning, we had 15 guys playing," Jason said. "One of the guys lost his first game and took a seat on the sidelines. Joe noticed he was wobbly when he tried to stand up and yelled to ask if he was OK."

Then the player stumbled out of the gym.

"We don't let someone leave not looking well," Joe said.

Another player followed him and came running back to say he'd collapsed. He was in cardiac arrest.

Springing into action

"I checked to see if he had a pulse," Joe said. "I then shook him and he didn't come to. Jason walked into the room and said, 'Let's do CPR.' He did compressions and I went to get the AED (automated external defibrillator). When I pulled out the AED, I was praying the instructions were in there."

The men revived the player before EMTs arrived.

AT&T training pays off

Jason is a principal-technical consulting engineer and Joe is an area manager-RAN engineer. The two have gone through training to prepare for moments like these on the job. And it paid off.

"We wouldn't have been able to act so quickly in this situation without our training," Jason said. "I was on autopilot. We talked later how we worked as a team. Watching Joe jump in and help, I felt like we were feeding off one another. It was serious and seemed like forever."

The doctors later told their friend how fortunate he was to be alive.

"It's easy to step back and wait to see if someone knows more than you do," Joe said. "On instinct, we jumped in because of our training."

"Knowing CPR and using an AED are life skills," Jason said. "Pun intended. Everyone should know about them so you feel confident in a situation like that."

One of their basketball buddies offered an eyewitness account of Joe and Jason in action.

"Jason hopped right in and started pumping on our friend's chest – and did it tirelessly," said Meredith Elder. "When that wasn't working, Joe got up and walked to the AED backpack so calmly. This guy is unflappable. If I'm in a foxhole, I want him beside me."

"We were all nervous and there was no pulse," Meredith continued. "We've been playing together a long time. We'd do anything for each other. Jason and Joe actually knew something to do."

This story originally appeared on AT&T Insider 6/20/16 and was authored by Lauren Garner.