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At Trinity High School, a simple sign posted outside the football field equipment building serves as a reminder to all H.E.B. ISD staff: “Do Your Job.” For educator and assistant Athletic Trainer Saad Rajabali, those words became a guiding force during a life-or-death moment on the field.
Rajabali balances two demanding roles as a science teacher and assistant Athletic Trainer.
“I'm one of the assistant athletic trainers and a science teacher,” he explained.
Even during practices, he is on the field, tending to athletes’ routine injuries and mishaps. But on September 8, during a football game against Haltom City, his training was tested like never before.
“There was a player who collapsed on the Haltom City side, so the away sideline,” Rajabali recalled. The seventh-grade athlete was unresponsive. Acting instantly, Rajabali retrieved one of the school’s AED machines and joined other caregivers who were turning the student over. “I administered the AED first, got everybody away, and we let it read the rhythm and advise for shock. So, we did have a shock delivered, and then I continued with compressions after that,” he said.
The H.E.B. school district has long prioritized cardiac safety, becoming one of the first in Texas to implement a district-wide Cardiac Emergency Response Plan with the American Heart Association.
“We implemented the kids' heart challenge at every level… beginning with 5th grade,” said Superintendent Joe Harrington, who hopes to add even more AEDs across the district and inspire other districts nationwide.
For Rajabali, the moment was surreal.
“I had the view of that sign while administering CPR, so I just went and did my job,” he said. When the boy began to breathe again? “It was like scoring a touchdown.”
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