In four years on the Rudder varsity football team, David Wilganowski watched hours of game video, reviewing countless plays with teammates and coaches in pursuit of improvement. But he had never seen anything like what happened in the Rangers’ game against Leander Rouse three weeks ago. “I’ve watched it plenty of times,” Wilganowski said. “It’s eerie, but it doesn’t bother me. What am I going to do? It happened.”
What happened at Merrill Green Stadium on the night of Sept. 2 changed Wilganowski’s life. But his life didn’t end, thanks to medical personnel with the necessary equipment and training. Wilganowski collapsed on the field in the fourth quarter of a tied game and went into cardiac arrest. Rudder trainer Jamie Woodall and her staff used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to restart Wilganowski’s heart. He was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph Regional Health Center, then later that night was flown by helicopter to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
Eleven days later at Scott & White Hospital in Temple, Wilganowski underwent surgery in which a defibrillator was placed in his chest. He was released from the hospital and visited Rudder’s football
