NEED TO KNOW
Savy King opened up for the first time about the heart attack she suffered on the field during a May 9 game, during an interview on Good Morning America
King had emergency heart surgery after the incident and is now working towards a return to the field
The 20-year-old soccer star says Angel City FC’s medical staff saved her life by quickly providing CPR on the field
Angel City FC defender Savy King is opening up for the first time about the heart attack she had on the field during her team’s game in May.
King, 20, appeared on Good Morning America on Wednesday, July 16 and shared what she remembers from May 9, when she collapsed on the field just minutes after celebrating a teammate’s goal during a National Women’s Soccer League game against the Utah Royals.
“There’s actually a lot that I don’t remember,” King told GMA’s Will Reeve, detailing what she felt in the moment. “I remember I grabbed my leg because I was trying to distract myself from the fact that I felt like I was going to pass out.”
King added: “And then I remember the medical staff coming onto the field.”
Angel City’s trainers began performing CPR on King before she was rushed to the nearby Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles where she later had emergency heart surgery.
“I never had any medical history of anything with my heart, or even with injuries or anything in general,” King said, underscoring how shocking the incident was for her and her family.
Ron Lyon/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
Savy King
Dr. Richard Kim, who led the team at Cedars-Sinai that performed the surgery on King, told GMA that Savy was born with an “anomalous left coronary artery,” which caused her sudden collapse.
“The left coronary is the most important blood vessel in your heart, and when it’s anomalous that means it’s in a slightly different location than normal,” Kim explained.
Kim said doctors “created a new pathway for blood to get to her artery” and credited the first responders with doing a “fantastic job” of assisting King on the field before there was permanent damage.
“They saved my life,” King told GMA. “That will stay with me forever in my heart. And just knowing I get to play in front of them too, they were a huge reason why I am here. I play for them too, now.”
Mitchell Layton/NWSL via Getty
Savy King
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
An emotional King broke down in tears as she described what her mothers’ support meant to her throughout the medical emergency and the ensuing recovery. “I wouldn’t be here without them,” King said about her moms, Kim and Karrie King. “There is not enough, anything that I could give them. The rest of my career, the rest of my life is for them.”
King is now ramping up her training ahead of a potential return to the pitch, according to GMA, though there’s still no specific timeline for her return. Regardless, King said she’s resting easier, now that she knows there’s more soccer in her future.
“I was just so happy I was going to be able to recover and be as normal, and almost be like a ‘Savy 2.0,’ now,” King told Reeve with a smile. “I’ll be back and better than ever.”
Read the original article on People
