14-05-2025
Stranger saves 15-year-old baseball player's life with trick from 'The Office'
A teenage baseball player from Alabama collapsed on the field last month and was saved by a stranger who used a medical procedure once joked about on an episode of 'The Office.'
The teen, Evan Tucker, was trying out for a travel baseball team on April 19 when he went into cardiac arrest while standing on the outfield grass behind second base.
His mother, Samantha Tucker, initially assumed he was hit by a ball and took off running for her son, she told WBRC.
'I jumped up and I heard somebody say 'he's having a seizure,' so I took off running,' Samantha said. 'It was sheer panic, like shock actually.
Johnette Wilmot didn't know the Tucker family but happened to be at the field with her 11-year-old son Phoenix, who was trying out for a summer league.
Wilmot, who isn't a nurse or a doctor, wasted no time and went off running for Evan as well. She began performing CPR and did so for about eight minutes until an ambulance arrived.
'I learned CPR in high school when I was 17, and I've never had to use it in 40 years,' Wilmot said, adding that she kept humming 'Stayin' Alive' by the Bee Gees.
CPR instructors often use that song as guide when teaching people CPR because its tempo of 103 beats per minute is within the correct pace for effective chest compressions.
He was saved by this woman, Johnette Wilmot, who rushed out to him and began performing CPR to the tune of 'Stayin' Alive' by the Bee Gees
This method was further popularized by an episode of 'The Office' where an instructor used the 1977 disco hit to teach Michael Scott, played by Steve Carrell, who was practicing CPR on a dummy.
On the ambulance ride to the hospital, Evan's mother hoped and prayed he would be alright.
'The entire ride in the ambulance I was saying "Jesus I trust in you,"' Samantha said. 'I had a peace about me because somehow, I knew that he was going to be okay.'
And thanks to Wilmot and another mother who helped render aid, Evan managed to pull through.
When he arrived at the hospital in Birmingham, Samantha said he had to be shocked with defibrillators. He spent several days in a medically-induced coma before being woken up.
Evan can now speak and walk without assistance, though he is still in the hospital recovering.
'Miracles happen,' Samantha said. 'If it hadn't been for Johnette, if it hadn't have been for the Lord, my son would not be here today.'
'Because Johnette stepped in like she did and did CPR when a lot of people don't know, myself included, it's a good chance for people to think about that,' she added.
The GoFundMe that was set up for Evan's recovery revealed that Evan's father, Eddie, suffered a serious stroke eight years ago
After the terrifying incident, Samantha and Wilmot became fast friends. They now talk every day.
Wilmot visited Evan in the hospital for the first time this past weekend, tearfully hugging him and posing for a picture with him.
A friend of the Tucker family set up a GoFundMe for Evan as he continues his recovery.
It revealed that the family has a history of medical problems, with Evan's father, Eddie, suffering a stroke eight years ago that left him permanently disabled.
The page has raised $2,465 toward a $10,000 goal. The family is also selling T-shirts to help raise money for his care.
Evan's mother and Wilmot are encouraging others to learn CPR. The American Red Cross offers CPR training in all 50 states.
