Description

On April 26th of this year, life for our family changed forever. My son, Caleb Ray, was enjoying his first day of soccer practice for Lincoln County Youth Soccer League this season. This was his second year in soccer. Before soccer, he played tee ball for 3 seasons. Maggie Dale, his little sister, was excited because she was finally old enough to play and this was her first practice.
Most of our league (Lincoln County Youth Soccer) were spread out and practicing in their teams and age groups simulataneously. Practice lasted about 1.5 to 2 hours but consisted mainly of verbal instruction and trying to get things organized. It wasn’t hot outside at all either.
Caleb was playing tag after practice with his friend when he said his belly was hurting and sat down in the middle of the field. My husband walked over there and Caleb said “Daddy, I can’t see, Daddy, I can’t see”. He then collapsed, convulsed, and become unresponsive.
There was no AED available because the school and gym are locked when we are practicing. My husband and I began CPR whil waiting for the ambulance. It was approx 12 minutes before EMS arrived (and that’s a great response time in a rural area). They performed CPR and delivered shocks continually on the 1 hour long ride to the closest hospital. I was in the front of the ambulance watching and my husband and 4 yr old daughter watched while following them.
After the ER working on him for 30 minutes, he still showed no response. He had been gone immediately from the moment he collapsed on that field, 1.5 hours earlier. Our efforts to save his life failed and we will always wonder if his life could have been saved if only we had an AED on the field that day. We knew something needed to change immediately. So, we began the LIVE LIKE CALEB Foundation to provide local leagues with portable AEDs that will accompany them to every practice and game. We have our county covered, along with distribution in to other neighboring county leagues.