Moments after Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest during a basketball workout at USC, a distraught man informs a 911 operator: “We need an ambulance immediately…Listen, listen, listen listen to me, okay? Get an ambulance right now.”
The 911 operator assures the man, “all right, sir, I am going to send help,” before checking on the address.
The audio recording is part of a heavily redacted 911 call made to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The recording, which was released under California’s public records law, does not identify the 18-year-old James or describe his medical condition during the 9:26 a.m. call made from USC’s Galen Center.
A concerned man is heard talking to a 911 operator moments after Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest.
The male operator asks the caller, “Don’t hang up sir, don’t hang up sir.” He then directs the caller to “get next to him; how old is he? Get next to him with the phone, okay?”
“I need to find out if there is a doctor on scene with him or a registered nurse,” the operator tells the caller. The man replies that there is no doctor.
“Help is on the way; get next to him, please,” the operator again tells the caller. The operator concludes the call saying “help is on the way, call us back if anything changes.”
Sources, not authorized to discuss the medical incident, said that James was unconscious at the time of the call.
Soon afterward, Bronny James, the son of Lakers star LeBron James, was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was successfully treated for cardiac arrest and released, the hospital announced in a statement Thursday.
“Thanks to the swift and effective response by the USC athletics’ medical staff, Bronny James was successfully treated for a sudden cardiac arrest. He arrived at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center fully conscious, neurologically intact and stable,” Dr. Merije Chukumerije, the cardiologist treating James, said in a statement. “Mr. James was cared for promptly by highly-trained staff and has been discharged home, where he is resting. Although his workup will be ongoing, we are hopeful for his continued progress and are encouraged by his response, resilience, and his family and community support.”
In his first public statement since his son collapsed and lost consciousness during his USC basketball training session, LeBron James extended his appreciation to emergency personnel.
“I want to thank the countless people sending my family love and prayers. We feel you and I’m so grateful. Everyone doing great,” James tweeted Thursday. “We have our family together, safe and healthy, and we feel your love. Will have more to say when we’re ready but I wanted to tell everyone how much your support has meant to all of us!”
James is the second high-profile USC basketball player to suffer cardiac arrest in the last year-plus. Vince Iwuchukwu was able to return to the court six months after his cardiac arrest. USC’s experience handling the cardiac episode prepared the staff to treat James.
James committed to USC in May and was set to begin his freshman season with the Trojans later this year. The team was preparing for an overseas offseason tournament when James collapsed.
Times staff writer Ryan Kartje contributed to this report.
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