An athletic director from Long Island managed to save a basketball referee's life after he collapsed during a championship game. During the game on Saturday between Floral Park and West Hempstead, referee Joe Gaskin fell to the floor. Luckily, Jennifer Keane flew to the rescue and resuscitated him.
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This wasn't even the first time 47-year-old Keane saved someone's life. Nearly 20 years prior, she saved a colleague who was in cardiac distress. As soon as she saw 64-year-old Gaskin collapse, she knew what to do.
Basketball Referee's Life Saved By Athletic Director
Keane revealed to the New York Post what went down during the terrifying moment at Farmingdale State College. "It was the coach at West Hempstead that said, 'Joe, are you OK?'" she recalled. "And [Gaskin] just said, 'Yeah, I need a minute, I can't catch my breath.'"
Not too long after, the referee slumped to the floor. "I just jumped up and ran right over to him," continued Keane. Not only did Keane take immediate action, but so did a doctor and three nurses. They moved the West Hempstead team swiftly away from the court to deal with Gaskin.
"I could hear that he was struggling to breathe and started to turn blue," Keane described. She recalled the doctor saying that Gaskin had a pulse, and then suddenly he said, "No pulse."
With the help of a heroic witness, Keane was able to run and grab a nearby automated external defibrillator. While she stepped away, family nurse practitioner, Tiffany Vargas, came rushing in to help from the crowd. She was watching the game with her four children until she jumped into the fray and helped with chest compressions.
"I just kept saying, 'Joe, stay with us.' I just kept calling his name," Keane said. To everyone's relief, they brought the referee back to consciousness with the AED. Keane continued to reassure Gaskin as he awoke. "When he came back, I just kept saying, 'Joe, we got you. You're OK. We got you,' and I kept holding his hand."
With Gaskin back to consciousness, they gave him oxygen and rushed him to Plainview Hospital. Gaskin has four grandkids, and they're lucky to still have their grandfather in their lives after the health scare.
As you can imagine, the referee was enormously thankful to Keane for acting so quickly to save his life. He recalled what he told her upon waking up from the near-death experience. "When I woke up, I said 'Jen, I'm so excited to see your face instead of God's. I want to see my grandkids grow up.'"
Keane's heroic deeds called back to her saving a custodian at Jericho High School around 18 years ago. The athletic director said that "he survived as well" due to Keane having a certification to use an AED. Without it, the custodian and the referee may not have lived.
