2025 Omaha Heart & Stroke Walk

Memphis Zabawa loves playing soccer. Yet because he has asthma, all the running can be especially taxing. So, last fall, the seventh grader joined his school's cross-country team. His first race went fine. Midway through the second race, all was going well, too.

His dad, Justin – a high school teacher and soccer coach – was watching in the shade of a city park in Omaha, Nebraska, along with Memphis' younger brother, Cruz. The first couple times Memphis ran past them, he was with a pack of runners. The third time around, he was behind them. The next time, Memphis wasn't with the group or behind them.

As Justin and Cruz started walking up a path along the course to find Memphis, the team's coach sprinted in that direction. When Justin saw the coach, he knew something was wrong. Memphis was on the ground. His eyes were open, his lips turning blue. His inhaler was on the ground next to him. But that wasn't the problem. His heart had stopped. He was in cardiac arrest.

By the time Justin arrived, two spectators – a teacher and a parent of a fellow runner who happened to be a nurse – were giving Memphis CPR. Justin was able to keep Cruz from seeing things play out. The ambulance arrived and paramedics performed CPR and used an automated external defibrillator to shock his heart and regain a rhythm.

At the hospital, doctors confirmed that a severe asthma attack had caused Memphis to go into cardiac arrest. Because he was resuscitated quickly, doctors felt confident Memphis wouldn't have any physical or mental deficits.

Still, his parents worried. They felt better the next day while watching a University of Nebraska game. Hearing the song traditionally played when the Cornhuskers run onto the field, a groggy Memphis pumped his fist to the beat. Memphis was discharged the next day with orders to follow up with his pulmonologist.

Using social media, his mom, Erin, found the people who helped her son survive. They gathered for an evening so that the Zabawa family could thank them, as well as piece together the events. "They all recounted their experiences saving him," Erin said. "It was all so beautifully orchestrated." The rescuers also shared how they had been impacted, especially during the time between the event and learning he was OK.

Two weeks after his cardiac arrest, Memphis' doctors cleared him to resume all activities. A week later, he joined his teammates for the final race of the season – back at the same city park where he'd collapsed on the final lap. "He kept saying that he had to finish the race," Justin said.

Our hands can do so many things, the most important of which may be saving someone’s life. Performing Hands-Only CPR can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival. That is why the American Heart Association is on a mission to help have someone in every household learn CPR. Every dollar raised means more science that leads to medical breakthroughs and more people trained in CPR.

It only takes a few steps to save lives like Memphis.

Sign up for the Heart Walk, step out, and share your personal why.