Head of Central Private Tells of Son’s Near Death and Miraculous Recovery

My wife and I experienced a parent’s worst nightmare during halftime of Central Private’s district basketball game at Southern Lab on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Our son, Noah Martin, a junior starter for Central Private, had a seizure in the locker room. 

While Noah was having a seizure, I was called into the locker room, quickly followed by Dr. Kyle Dean, CP’s team physician, who also has a son on the team. Noah had childhood epilepsy, and my initial thought was that we would have to get him on medication again. The team left to start the second half. However, as Dr. Dean and I were making Noah comfortable, we noticed he wasn’t breathing. The situation became gravely serious very quickly.

As Dr. Dean started CPR, I called 911. Then I ran onto the court crying out for help. Several ran into the locker room. Dr. Dean, nurse Melissa O’Neil (whose son is also on the team), and several personnel from Southern Lab conducted CPR and then used an AED (defibrillator) to revive Noah. As CPR was continuously administered, Noah had to be shocked three times to get his pulse back.

I remember watching my cold, ashen-faced son being shocked as he lay on a sweaty, concrete floor. During CPR, I rested my hand on him begging God to take my life, but please let Noah live. Fighting haunting death thoughts, I reminded Jesus that He is the Resurrection and the Life, and that in His favor is life. It seemed like an eternity for the ambulance to arrive, which was actually about 15 minutes. While waiting, precious CP and Southern Lab parents and staff surrounded me and prayed. As a CP mother held me tightly, one Southern Lab lady held my face in her hands and commanded me to look in her eyes as she said, “Our God is a miracle-working God.” The dear lady was right. And this pastor needed the prayers and faith of others.

Noah was rushed to the emergency room at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. The next morning, he was transferred to Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. While in the emergency room in Baton Rouge, the doctor told us there could possibly be neurological and cardiac damage and that we should expect it. We were told it would be a long, laborious recovery process, and that Noah may have limited speech and motor functions. At this point, I was just thankful that he was alive. Throughout the night we talked to Noah. Around 3 a.m., I leaned to him and whispered in his ear for the hundredth time, “I love you, Noah.” Then I heard him say softly, “I love you too.” There was great rejoicing in the hospital! By noon the next day, Noah was sitting up playing video games with no signs of damage of any kind, except for short-term memory loss that would last about a week.

It is a miracle that Noah survived! 

In the emergency room, testing revealed that Noah has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a usually undetected, genetic heart condition often resulting in death. The condition was responsible for the deaths of Don Redden (former LSU basketball player), Wally Pontiff Jr. (former LSU baseball player), and many local athletes through the years. 

Thankfully, at Southern Lab, there was a doctor on the scene, a couple of nurses, and an AED. Noah would have died without the immediate attention of skilled, trained personnel and an AED. Three cardiologists who saw Noah all said it was a miracle that he survived, because typically when someone has an episode like his, they die because the needed instruments for survival are not present. We were blessed beyond measure!

Amazingly, Noah was released on Friday, just three days after the episode. Three days! Resurrection. Noah wanted to see his team, which was hosting Thrive Academy that night. He arrived as the fourth quarter started, and when he walked onto the court, he was met with loud applause and a standing ovation. The Central Private crowd could not believe what they were seeing. Noah sat with his team as they played inspired ball and won the district contest. My heart rejoiced in this special, surreal moment. From life to death to life.

Good can come from traumatic events. Weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Within days, EMS donated an AED to Central Private. The school now has three defibrillators on display in their main office and gyms. A few days later, the Louisiana Pediatric Cardiology Foundation administered free heart screens for 9-12 grade student athletes at CP. About 70 were tested for the deadly heart condition. Detection and treatment could save lives.

Noah gave television interviews, declaring his appreciation and stressing the need for testing. He now feels it is his mission to promote life-saving skills in schools, as well as the urgent need to have AEDs on campus and on hand for practices and games. We feel God has His hand on Noah, and that He worked this miracle with a special future in mind for Noah.

A special relationship developed between Central Private and Southern Lab, first-year district combatants in CP’s inaugural season in the LHSAA. Leaders of both schools stayed in contact with one another, as Southern Lab’s coaches and leadership regularly checked on Noah, concerned about his condition and recovery. 

On February 28, Noah, along my wife and I, Dr. Dean, nurse O’Neil, coach Gary Duhe, and several other CP players and parents attended Southern Lab’s first playoff game. The CP contingent cheered Lab on as they defeated St. Frederick High School. Noah met the coach and team in their locker room before the game, presenting them a plaque and offering his heartfelt thanks. He was also reunited with the Southern Lab staff who helped save his life: coach Jamar McKnight, coach Kevin Augustine, and officer Alexander Jackson, among others. Noah had come full circle, from laying on a locker room floor with people fighting for his life, to standing in a locker room expressing thanks for God’s miracle in his life.

Southern Lab’s Board of Supervisors is hosting a special event to honor Noah on Southern University’s campus on March 20. That date happens to be Noah’s 17th birthday, a special birthday we feel extremely blessed to observe. Southern Lab has named Noah an honorary “Kitten” for life.

My wife and I and our other children, Alec and Myla, as well as all those from Central Private and Southern Lab who were involved in the traumatic halftime incident, feel God orchestrated everything in those frantic minutes to save Noah’s life. Everyone needed and everything required, were present on that night resulting in Noah still being with us today. We cannot express enough thanks to God and all the people who helped and prayed for Noah during this ordeal. We rejoice everyday for the miracle of life.

What began as a nightmare became a testimony of God’s amazing grace, as well as a testimony to the care and concern of two special campuses, forever linked in a unique and unforgettable relationship