Spartan Aids in Effort To Help Save Alumnus’s Life
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — In a room normally reserved for board members and other dignitaries, Norfolk State University alums Reginald and Evelyn Osby waited nervously for a reunion that would make the current and past presidents of the university proud.
For the first time Thursday morning, 1973 Norfolk State graduate Reginald Osby met junior Edward Seawood, the computer science major who saved Osby’s life during a historic day on campus.
The Spartans and their new coach, former NFL star Michael Vick, made their season-debut Aug. 28 as Stephen A. Smith and his crew was on hand as ESPN offered live coverage and the stadium was packed as the 10 On Your Side sports team whipped the crowd into a frenzy of green-and-gold excitement.
Early on, the stats didn’t look good, and in the end the Spartans would rush only 39 yards. The Spartans fell to Towson 27-7. For many fans, the last few minutes of the game were just too painful to watch.
Seawood and his friends were heading to their dorm when Reginald and Evelyn Osby, who graduated NSU in 1974, were heading home. As they left the stadium, the couple had no idea a medical crisis loomed and their lives would change because of a college student.
“Reggie said, ‘Evelyn slow down,’ and ‘slow it down,’ And when I looked back, he fell on the ground,” Evelyn Osby said. “I said, ‘Oh my gosh. I was crying and some lady came up to me and she said, ‘We can’t find a pulse.”
Reginald Osby said he doesn’t remember anything about what happened.
“All I remember is taking the step,” he said, “and that was it. Wow, lights out.”
Nearby, Seawood and his friends noticed the commotion.
“So I was walking out with my friends and someone said, ‘Hey, this is this guy fell over. I checked his pulse. He didn’t really have one,” Seawood said. “So I said, ‘OK, I’ll call 911.'”
Using the skills taught by his mother, Seawood jumped into action.
“That’s when I called 911,” Seawood said. “And, it took 911 like two minutes for them to pick up, but during that time, I started chest compressions — there’s a song, Stayin Alive, so with that tempo, you’re supposed to do it to that tempo.”
Paramedics took over, restored Osby’s pulse, and rushed him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
Five days after Reginald Osby collapsed, his wife returned to NSU to present a $10,000 gift toward Seawood’s tuition. The university Police Department coordinated the visit.
“And he [the officer] said that he [Seawood] would be willing to meet with you tomorrow,” Evelyn Osby said. “I said, ‘Thank God, because I wanted to meet this young man and give him a scholarship. Thank you for saving [my husband’s] life. I said, ‘Hey, money doesn’t mean anything when you don’t have your life.’ And so when I met him, we hugged and he cried and cried and it was a great feeling.”
Said Reginald Osby: “Again, I can’t thank you enough because every day I thank God and I thank you to take care of you.”
Seawood, who plans to join the Coast Guard, was thankful.
“I really do appreciate that,” Seawood said.
A university spokesperson told 10 On Your Side NSU is exploring ways to educate students about what to do in emergency response situations, safety and CPR certification.
According to the American Heart Association 90% of people who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest do not survive. To find a CPR class near your home, visit the American Red Cross website.