Medics thanked for saving boy with mystery heart attack

WASILLA — Nancy Koval said she’s still not sure what happened to her then 10-year-old son, Spencer, but she’s glad emergency responders were there to help

Monday, Koval, Spencer and his basketball team toured Fire Station 6-1 — the big one downtown — and she told the responders just now grateful they were.

“He survived thanks to you guys,” she said.

Koval remembers the night more clearly than her son — he actually doesn’t remember a thing. She said it was just before his birthday, on Valentine’s Day.

“Spencer slept by me that night,” she said. “He woke up, said, ‘ouch, ouch!’ and then he was gone.”

It was cardiac arrest, but Spencer is and was a healthy boy. He’d never had any health problems, and the doctors, though they’ve run every test they can, are also baffled.

“Spencer’s an anomaly,” Koval said. “He just wanted to test God’s skills, I guess.”

She said dispatchers had her start CPR. Medics were rolling out to a less important call, so were diverted and on scene in short order.

“Doing CPR on your own child, just the way they look — it’s scary,” Koval said.

Battalion Chief Brian Shea said he was staffing the ambulance that night. He remembers the call. Having a 10-year-old patient (Spencer has since turned 11) is not normal in the emergency medical services world. Gina Spangler, a mother of one of Spencer’s teammates and a former emergency dispatcher, noted that there really aren’t any protocols for 10-year-olds who have heart attacks.

“Providence (Alaska Medical Center) has a pediatric care unit. That’s where he needed to be,” Shea said.

So they summoned a helicopter, which flew Spencer to Anchorage. Shea said he was happy Spencer and his team stopped by.

“We don’t very often get to see the outcomes of what we do,” he said.

He led the team into the equipment bays at the fire station and let them take a look at all the shiny trucks and pose for photos.

Koval said that for his birthday this year Spencer got a pacemaker. But, she said, it’s really just a precaution. Doctors say he can’t play football — which is kind of a bummer for the boy since it’s his favorite sport. But he can go back to playing basketball.

“In two weeks he’s back on normal kid duty,” Koval said.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.