HERRIMAN, Utah — A normal afternoon on a Herriman football field turned into a life-or-death moment more than two years ago, and the coach who lived through it all will never forget the people who rushed in to help.
It was an experience that brought Taylor Cowan to his knees.
“Every time I look over there, it's just kind of like, wow, like I have a little flashback,” said Cowan.
In October 2022, Cowan was a youth football coach for Herriman High School. He said that he'd always been pretty healthy, but back on that day, something felt off.
“I'd been experiencing chest pain for multiple months,” he shared.
After running tests, his cardiologist found that Cowan had a heart condition.
“They ultimately told me nothing was life-threatening, and so I took that for what it's worth,” he admitted.
On a hot day, about five months later, Cowan was running drills with the players when he started to become dizzy.
“I told myself I was going to take a quick knee,” he remembered, “even told my kids to just hang on for a few seconds.”
That’s when he collapsed.
“I didn't really think that I was at risk.”
Heath Holverson, who was coaching freshman football nearby, had taken CPR training just a month earlier, so he knew to start chest compressions immediately.
“You go through it where you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, I've got to learn this,’ but you don't think you'll ever have to do that,” Holverson admitted.
Dustin Pierce was also close by, and as a head football coach, he said that his instincts kicked in.
“I just thought I need to get the AED over there immediately,” said Pierce.
Hannah Randall is a state government relations director for the American Heart Association in Utah and says the legislature passed SB 244 that ensures every school in the state has a plan in place in case of sudden cardiac arrest.
“The survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest across the country is less than 10%,” explained Randall, “but in schools that have AEDs, the survival rate is 70%.
It was people like Holverson and Pierce, both CPR-certified, who gave Cowan a second chance at life.
“Last year, I met the woman of my dreams,” Cowan shared. “She has three beautiful daughters, and I have that chance because of those guys.”
