“Like many other alumni, Sanford means a great deal to me, but I’m not sure how many other alumni can say that Sanford saved their life...”
O
n Thursday, April 13, I decided to go to Sanford to watch the baseball game between Sanford and Tatnall. It would be my first time at that baseball field since I played there in May 1963. I traveled to Sanford and parked on the side of the road about 80 yards from the field. I started walking up the road to the game. About 20 yards from the field, I moved over to the grass. I felt somewhat fatigued and decided to pause and rest. The last thing I recall was dropping down on my knees. The next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance heading to Christiana Care Hospital, being treated by EMTs. When I got to the emergency room, I was told that I had experienced a sudden cardiac arrest. As I learned later, Sanford’s Assistant Baseball Coach, Matt Wilson, their Athletic Trainer, Taylor DiGiovine, and a Building and Grounds Team member, Andrew Fehnel, had come to assist me. Usingg CPR and an AE AED ED ((Automated A to Au t ma m te t d External Ext xter erna rnaal Defibrillator), Defi efibr brrilllaato tor) r), they r) the h y were werre able abl blee to to shock sho hock ckk my my heart hea eart r back rt bac ackk into int ntoo a norm no rm mal rrhythm, hyth hy thm, m, thus thus hu us saving savvin ingg my my life. liffe. I was was a very verry lucky luc ucky kyy gguy uyy and and happened happe ap ppe pene ned ne d to to be be iin n tthe he normal Crescenzi, rright igh g t place place at the the right rig ight ht time.” time. ime.”” - JJohn ohhn C resc re resc scen en enzi nzi,, ’’63 63 63 “
SSaving Savi Sa ving ingg John Joh ohn hn Crescenzi’s Cre resc scen enzi zi’s i’s lif llife ifee w if as a ssignificant igni iig nific ifi fican ant eevent vent that h startled staart rtle lled d the th he Sanford San a fford d community. com ommu muni mu nity ni ity ty.. was After Afte Af terr tthe te he iincident, ncid nc iden id en nt, rremnants emna em nant na ntts ooff cconcern once on cern ce rn aand nd rrelief ellie ieff cclung lu ungg ttoo tthe he sspirit piri pi ritt ooff tthe ri he ccampus. ampu am pus. pu s. Furthermore, wonder his Furt Fu rthe rt herm he rm mor ore, e, aan n ooverwhelming verw ve rw wheelm lmin ingg ssense in ense en s ooff w se on nde derr aabout boout JJohn’s oh hn’ n’ss llife ifee sstory if tory to ryy and nd h i relationship with Sanford pervaded the minds of the Warriors present that day. “After helping John, my number one concern was figuring out who this guy was and making sure he was all right. I couldn’t shake off the worry as I wondered what had happened to him, but I also wanted to know why he came to campus. Once we got word wo rd that he was okay, I wanted to learn more about his story and his time as a student. rd Thiss encounter has not just changed John’s life, but mine as well.” - Matt Wilson, Dean of Thi Upp Up Upper ppee School Students and Varsity Baseball Coach Matt was determined to learn more. Fortunately, his Upper School colleague could provide a more meaningful answer. FA FA LLL || WW IN IN TT EE R R2 0 22 03 2 3| |Reaching Reachingfor forExcellence Excellent
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