A Westfield student is scheduled for heart surgery Tuesday morning in Atlanta after he collapsed and stopped breathing during the Hornets’ home basketball game Thursday against Crisp Academy.

Tucker Moody made his way to the sidelines during the second quarter of the game complaining of a lack of vision. He then collapsed.

“He was not breathing and did not have a pulse,” Crisp County Regional emergency room physician Dr. Sheila Southerland said Monday.

Southerland attended the game because her daughter, Kara White, plays varsity for Crisp Academy. When Moody went down, Crisp County boys’ assistant coach Don Odom called for Southerland’s help.

Attended by Cordele nurses Traci Yawn and Sharon Driver, and others from Westfield, Southerland administered “about 30 compressions” of hands-only CPR before Moody’s heart spontaneously converted back to normal rhythm.

There was an automatic defibrillator (AED) on hand, but Southerland said, “we did not need to shock him.”

She added that the incident is a good example of the importance of bystander CPR and the availability of AEDs.

According to Mary Kinnas at Westfield, Moody was stabilized and then transported by Houston County EMS to The Medical Center of Central Georgia. On Friday, he was moved to Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta.

“Westfield is very grateful for the support and medical attention given by the Westfield parents/nurses, the athletic trainer, and the Crisp Academy parent/emergency room physician, along with the Houston Healthcare EMS and the Perry Fire Department personnel who provided medical attention,” Kinnas wrote in e-mail. “We are also thankful for Reverend Jeremy Morton, pastor of Cross Pointe Baptist Church and Westfield team chaplain, who led both teams, our students, parents, and fans in prayer during the situation.”