Coppell Chronicle Vol. 6, No. 14
Teenager Lauded for Lifesaving Effort • Stadium’s Concession Stands Will Cool Down • Mr. CHS Inspires Fellow Graduates • Council to Consider Mansion’s Demolition
The first article in this week’s edition is the fifth and final contribution from intern Neev Chickermane, who is moving on to bigger and better things. He was recently named the managing editor of The Sidekick, the student newspaper at Coppell High School.
This situation reminds me of a line Robert DeNiro’s character in Goodfellas issued about Joe Pesci’s character, who started out as his teenage protégé: “We’re gonna be working for this guy someday! He’s gonna be a boss!”
Teenager Lauded for Lifesaving Effort
A 13-year-old is being hailed as a hero for saving the life of a 10-year-old last fall.
While playing basketball in Coppell on Nov. 15, Nasir “Nas” Brobby felt chest pain. A couple of minutes later, he fell to the ground unconscious.
His friend Jace Giles immediately started chest compressions to the beat of the song “Baby Shark” by Pinkfong. Jace’s mom, arriving after the realization that both kids’ phones were dead, joined in on the compressions while calling 911.
Emergency medical technicians from the Coppell Fire Department arrived on the scene promptly and rushed Nas to Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas, where doctors ran tests. They found that he had an undiagnosed congenital heart disease called ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib), which disrupts blood flow to the left coronary artery.
Jace, his mother, and dispatchers from the North Texas Emergency Communications Center were honored at a May 22 press conference at Life Safety Park. The event, which was scheduled to coincide with EMS Week, started with a speech from Coppell Mayor Wes Mays.
“Today, we honor a very extraordinary act of collaboration and courage that occurred to save a child’s life in our Andy Brown Park,” Mays said. “A 13-year-old teen used CPR, and his training learned here at the Life Safety Park, to help save his friend’s life after a medical emergency on the basketball court.”
Mays’ speech was followed by a short video that narrated the unfolding of the event. “His heart muscle was starving from blood,” Dr. Tia Raymond, a pediatric cardiologist, says in the video.
Jace, who attends Coppell Middle School West, and his mother, Charisse DeLoria, both spoke at the May 22 event, but DeLoria did most of the talking.
“I did not have any CPR training at all,” DeLoria said. “But yeah, thank you so much. I didn’t know what I was doing. So scary, but thank you for walking me through that again. I’m so happy that we were able to save Nas’ life and make a difference.”
Nas is a student at Dallas ISD’s Dallas Hybrid Preparatory at Stephen J. Hay. His mother, Terese Tunia, also expressed gratitude to all involved.
“You guys saved my son’s life, which is saving my life,” Tunia said. “Thank you to everybody for all your support during this time and everything that you guys did.”
Michael McDowell, a Division Chief with the Coppell Fire Department, then presented awards to Jace, DeLoria, 911 dispatcher in training Erin Rocha, and 911 dispatcher trainer Rylee DelaGarza.
“This was a big event,” McDowell said, “and we’re so thankful for the outcome to see Nasir today as an honor and a privilege for all of us.”
McDowell then invited Life Safety Park Manager Bethany Everett to stage a CPR demonstration with Jace, who was put on the spot but was able to demonstrate the process with ease.
“Summer is a great time for families and children to learn CPR,” Everett said. “We encourage that — to learn them together.”
A Brief Promotional Interruption
Before we get to all of the non-Neev content behind this week’s paywall, I wanted to make time for a sales pitch (or two).
The dude with the stunning head of hair is my son Gabriel Koller. Last week, he exited Coppell ISD’s transitional program for graduates with special needs. Despite his teachers’ and therapists’ best efforts, Gabe’s prospects for gainful employment are slim to none due to his mental disabilities, so my long-term plan is for the Coppell Chronicle to fund his adult life. Yes, this is a blatant attempt to tug at your heartstrings so you’ll upgrade to a paid subscription, which costs $5 per month or $40 per year.
If you want a T-shirt like the ones Gabe and I are sporting in that picture, you can buy one here. You can also tell people you read all about in the Coppell Chronicle via youth T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, and caps.
Stadium’s Concession Stands Will Cool Down
Good news for Coppell High School band parents: The conditions in your concession stands are going to get a lot cooler.
During football games and other events at Buddy Echols Field, concessions are sold primarily by musicians’ moms and dads. As a former band parent, Coppell ISD Trustee Nichole Bentley has firsthand knowledge of those food-service experiences. She once handled the popcorn machine during a football season opener, when the astronomical season was still technically summer. Consequently, her working conditions were quite hot.
“I had to throw my clothes away, between the sweat and the grease,” Bentley shared during the trustees’ May 18 meeting. “I can tell you that is a miserable, miserable duty early in the fall.”