It’s been a long and stressful week for Brayden Weber and his parents, Sara Waytashek and Wayne Weber, but with their son home and doing well, as well as an answer for what caused his collapse last Saturday, things are looking up.
Weber, a wrestler for the Becker Bulldogs, was competing in the 220-lb weight class at the state wrestling championships at Xcel Energy Center last Saturday, suddenly collapsed face-first right after his semifinals match. His heart had stopped.
Dr. Mark Berg, medical director of the tournament, immediately began CPR, assisted by certified athletic trainers Karin Shelstad and Jenna Arnold. They were able to revive Weber after a few agonizingly long minutes.
Their quick response saved his life.
Although dazed, Weber gave the crowd a thumbs up as he was taken out on a stretcher. The arena, which had been completely silent, broke into thunderous applause.
He was rushed to Regions Hospital in St. Paul where a series of neurological and cardiac tests were performed, all came back normal. The only thing doctors could come up with was that the incident was concussion related; earlier in the match Weber and his opponent had bumped heads, but he had been cleared after passing a concussion test.
Weber remembers being pinned during the match but nothing else until he regained consciousness. By that night he felt completely normal.
“He had no idea what happened or how serious it was,” said his mom, Sara Waytashek. “We were sitting in the waiting room and his only concern was getting back to the arena in time to receive his medal.”
Weber earned sixth place after defaulting out of the tournament due to his collapse. On the podium, the competitors who earned medals in his weight class honored him by draping his medal over a sign Waytashek had made to represent her son.
Weber’s teammates stuck it out and continued competing in the tournament.
“After Brayden’s incident I’m just happy and thankful that he’s okay,” said head wrestling coach Matt Aho. “It was a stressful moment for all. I’m proud of how everyone reacted and were able to pull together to keep moving forward.”
Dr. Berg came by Weber’s hospital room to visit him on Monday.
“It was a very emotional thing for both of them,” said Waytashek. “They hugged for a long time. Dr. Berg said he had just been doing his job, but this was my son’s life. It was a big deal.”
That night Weber was discharged and back home recuperating, but his concussion diagnosis wasn’t sitting well with Waytashek. When they received a call saying one of the cardiologists at Children’s Hospital wanted to see Weber asap, she was hopeful they would finally have an answer.
Weber was scheduled for an echo stress test on Wednesday. He made it five minutes and had another episode. They finally had a concrete diagnosis, ventricular tachycardia (VT).
VT is a type of abnormal heart rhythm that causes the heart to beat too fast to pump the blood well, so the body doesn’t receive enough oxygenated blood. It’s not much of a problem when it only lasts a few seconds, but when sustained it can lower blood pressure, resulting in fainting or a feeling of lightheadedness. It can also lead to cardiac arrest.
Weber was put on medication to calm his heart and will be back at Children’s on the 16th for more testing, which help determine his treatment going forward.
“It sounds wrong to say it, but it’s kind of a blessing,” said Waytashek. “The final piece fell into place; we finally have answers.”
Weber is still home resting; he’ll return to school on Monday. For the time being he’s not allowed to participate in any physical activity or participate in any spring sports. His main concern is starting football.
“He’s doing great, but it’ll take a while and there’s a process he has to follow before he’s cleared,” said Waytashek. “But if I know my child, he’ll find a way. It’s [VT] treatable, there’s no hinderance on him coming back.”
The family is grateful for all the prayers and messages they’ve received.
“I don’t even know everyone who reached out,” said Waytashek. “We live in an awesome community.”
