21-02-2025
CPR training helps Arlington man save friend's life during football game
The Brief
The Arlington Fire Department recognized Marquis Sanders and the crew from Fire Station 12 for their heroic efforts in saving 20-year-old Isaiah Stokes.
The medical emergency happened on Dec. 29 on the field at Bowie High School during a pick-up game of football.
After Stokes went down, Sanders — who is trained in CPR — directed others to call 911 and took over performing CPR on Stokes.
Stokes was released from the hospital in January. He says he owes his life to Sanders.
ARLINGTON, Texas - A bystander and an Arlington medical crew are being honored for saving the life of a man who went into cardiac arrest while playing football.
The doctor who worked on him at the hospital said everyone involved played an important role.
The backstory
The medical emergency happened on Dec. 29 on the field at Bowie High School.
20-year-old Isaiah Stokes suffered a heart attack while playing a pick-up game of football.
"We got to playing. We did one play, and I remember I felt like, 'I'm a little tired. I'm going to sit down. Will someone get me some water?'" he recalled. "They brought the water over to me, and that's all I remember."
Stokes' friend, Marquis Sanders, was also playing in the pick-up game of football. He directed others to call 911.
"It was just the Red Cross training courses," he said. "I did that two years ago."
Sanders says he saw another friend performing CPR on Stokes but felt the friend's hand positioning was too low.
Sanders, who is trained in CPR, asked to take over.
"In my mind, I just remembered all the steps they told me: to overlap my hands, use a little bit of body weight, one to two inches and basically just taking over the place of the heart to pump blood through the body," he recalled.
Within moments, Arlington firefighters and medics from Station 12 were on the scene and took things from there.
"I just knew once he was fully responsive, he was gonna be good," said Sanders.
Sanders and the firefighters who responded were recognized on Thursday by the Arlington Fire Department for their heroic efforts.
What they're saying
Stokes was released from the hospital in January. Doctors say he's doing remarkably well.
"Time matters. Each second matters," said Medical City Arlington Dr. Bilal Ayub. "I think what Marcus did at that time, I think that was the most important part."
"This is clearly one of those cases where seamless teamwork made the difference," said Medical City Arlington Chief Medical Officer Dr. Matt Adams.
The two friends are now even more connected than ever.
"I feel like basically I owe him my life," said Stokes. "Because without him, everything would've been downhill for my family."
What you can do
Sanders says he learned CPR through training with the American Red Cross.
The organization offers CPR training both in person and online.
CPR TRAINING COURSES NEAR YOU
The Source
Information in this article comes from Thursday's ceremony and interviews conducted by FOX 4's Dionne Anglin.
