CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Four years ago, a junior varsity basketball player at Veterans Memorial High School collapsed at a game from a heart condition.
She will be honored at the American Heart Association Heart Ball to tell her story of survival.
Briseis Del Fierro was a freshman on the JV team when she collapsed in December 2019. She said that whole week was a blur, only knowing what happened because of what she was told.
During the game her heart stopped but the heroic actions of strangers saved her life. "It just seemed like a regular day and, you know, there was no signs of anything happening," Del Fierro said.
It was just another basketball game on December 13, 2019, between Vets Memorial High School and Moody High School, until Del Fierro went for a ball out of bounds after playing a full quarter. She explained, "I suddenly collapsed, and I started turning blue and that's when they noticed that something was really wrong."
She said her heart stopped, people rushing to perform CPR on her and using an AED. When 3NEWS asked, "Once they realize something is wrong, they stop the game and what happens next?"
Del Fierro responded, "Well, we had a majority of parents and just people that I didn't know of come and rush to my aid. Thankfully, they were there because without them, I wouldn't be here right now."
She found out from doctors she was born with her left coronary artery displaced, undetected until that Friday in December. After an operation to move it back to the right place, she began her recovery.
3NEWS spoke with Cardiologist Dr. Travis Taylor. He said, "If you have any concerning symptoms when you're on the court, you're exerting yourself, you have unusual shortness of breath, you're passing out, and having chest pain with activity. Those are very concerning, and you need to get that evaluated."
Similar to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, the quick actions performed on Del Fierro made the difference in saving her. Dr. Taylor said chest compressions are crucial, two inches down onto the sternum. No mouth to mouth is necessary.
"They got on the field immediately, they started CPR by removing his pads and they did chest compressions, which is recommended by the American Heart Association right now." Dr. Taylor explained.
Del Fierro doesn't play basketball anymore but helped manage the Vets Memorial basketball team during her sophomore and junior year. Now a senior, she has an EKG certification, meaning she can administer an electrocardiogram test to monitor someone's heart.
"Having that talk with myself really helped to see what I wanted to do and whether it's paramedics or whether it's just something medical related, you know. Helping others the way that they helped me is kind of what I'm looking at right now." Del Fierro explained.
Del Fierro said recovery from that day is both mental and physical. To pass the time during her recovery, she said she discovered a love for painting.
She credits that family, friends and the strangers that stepped in that day helped her recover and move forward with her life.
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