Mick McCabe, Special to Detroit Free Press Published 6:02 a.m. ET Feb. 7, 2020 | Updated 12:26 p.m. ET Feb. 7, 2020

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The second half of thegirls varsity basketball game between Grosse Pointe North and South was about to begin when Bob Zaranek returned from the concession stand with popcorn for South scorekeeper Leo Lamberti.

He placed the popcorn down and noticedthe clock 58 secondsleft in the halftime break.

I looked up and saw the team coming out, Zaranek said. I looked back down and my eyes got blurry. I thought: Wow, thats kind of weird.

Thats the last thing I remember.

Zaranek collapsed, hitting the court face-first.

He was clinically dead. It would not be the only time that night.

A few weeks have passed since he was brought back to life twice and he is again coaching the South freshman girls team while trying to make sense of what happened that night.

He still has no answers to any of his questions.All Zaranek, an attorney, knows for sure is that he is alive only because of an amazing group of people who did not panic in the most traumatic moment.

If they didnt have an AED there or the people or the training, he said, shaking his head, I wouldnt be here.

The usualclock operator had a conflict the evening of Jan. 10, and Zaranek was asked to fill in.

Grosse Pointe South High School girls' freshman team coach Bob Zaranek talks to players at a timeout during a game against Macomb Dakota at Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe Farms, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.(Photo: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press)

Standing behind the scorer'stable was Collin Karcher, a certified athletic trainer assigned to South. Up in the stands was Kathy Richards, the mother of South girls varsity coach Kevin Richards.

When Zaranek collapsed, Karcher got on the ground next to him. Richards sprinted across the gym.

When you see someone unconscious, Karcher said, you have to assume the worst.

Kathy Richards heard a commotion and looked down, but did not have a clear view of Zaranek.

I had noticed Kevin had walked over to the scoring table and then I saw him run, he said. All that I could see was Bobs feet outside the table. I thought either he fell or had a seizure. By the way his feet were moving, I knew thats not a good sign.

A recently retired nurse of 43 years who had managed the cardiac catheterization lab at McLaren Port Huron Hospital, she ran down the bleachers and onto the court.

Grosse Pointe South High School girls' freshman team coach Bob Zaranek sits next to athletic trainer Collin Karcher, left, during a game against Macomb Dakota at Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe Farms, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.(Photo: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press)

Zaranek was unconscious.

We started looking for a sign of life, thats a pulse, Karcher said. Once you dont have a pulse, the emergency action thing goes into place.

South girls junior varsityassistant coach Joe Srebernak, who also is a Grosse Pointe police officer, helped Karcher roll the 6-foot-8Zaranekon to his back. There wasblood on the court and his face, theresult of thefall.

The blood was the least of Karchers concerns at that moment.

Kathy Richards began heart compressions.Karcher toldKevinRichards to retrieve the Automated External Defibrillator (AED), and had Kierra Washington, the certified athletic trainer assigned to North, call 911.

The most crucial aspect was that the South gym hadan AED, a medical devicethat delivers an electrical shock to restart the heart. Neither the state nor the MHSAA require schools to have AEDs, butMHSAA varsity coaches must undergo CPR training.

As he ran to get the AED, Kevin Richards also thought of someone else.

Grosse Pointe South High School girls' freshman team coach Bob Zaranek talks to players during a game against Macomb Dakota at Grosse Pointe South on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.(Photo: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press)

I lost my dad in 2003, he was 52. hesaid. He was playing basketball in a rec league in Port Huron. They performed CPR, but they didnt have an AED.

Medical professionals who had been in the crowd offered to help. One was Austin Price, a cardiac nurse.

'Austin, I need you to do compressions,' Karcher said. He was fantastic.

Price relieved Kathy Richards as Karcher and Srebernak preparedto use the AED.

Zaranek was wearing a dress shirt; Karcher ripped it open.

I didnt take the time to undo the buttons, he said. I apologized for ruining his shirt.

An instant laterRichards returned with the AED.

He set it right in front of us, open, Karcher said. He knew the drill."

Once the AED is operating, it instructs what needs to be done.

AED, Automated External Defibrillator, Tuesday, April 9, at the Western Mall in Sioux Falls.(Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

Between Austin and Kevins mom, we probably got through one to two rounds of compressions, Karcher said. At that point the AED said 'shock advised.'

By the time heapplied the first pad, Srebernak had the second one off the machine and ready to go.

The AED deliveredthe shock.Price resumed compressions.

Its not like a movie where they kind of jump up, Karcher said. Austin gave him compressions again and maybe five to 10 compressions in, Bob starts to take breaths.

He then slowlyI dont know if theres a better way to put it comes back to life. He starts breathing again hes gaspinghe has a good pulse.

Zaranek had no idea if he was out for a minute or an hour.It took some time for him to regain his bearings and figure out he was in Souths gym.

The next thing I know is Im there looking up and Collin is there, hesaid. I see Joe Srebernak, whos standing there and I see Kevin standing there. I can hear Collin talking to me. He said they were going to take me to the hospital. I said,I just want to go home. I think I said that 100 times.

Grosse Pointe South High School girls' freshman team coach Bob Zaranek watches a play on the sideline during a game against Macomb Dakota at Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe Farms, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.(Photo: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press)

Karcher remembers Zaranek also saying that he wanted to get some rest because they had practice at 7 a.m.

He wasrushed to Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Pointe. Hiswife, Betty, and his daughter, Amy, arrived soon after.

Then came the second attack.After returning to his room following his CT scan, Amy noticed her fathers monitor reactingas he went into cardiac arrest again.

Amy said she got up out of her chair to yell for help and a second later they were there and a guy jumps on the bed doing CPR, Zaranek said. Those nurses at Beaumont take care of you like you were their long-lost grandfather. Theyre spectacular.

The same could be said of the people at South who saved his life the first time.

Ill tell you, he was so impressive, Richards said of Karcher. His calmness, his poisehe showed leadership, directing and he did everything that you train for. He was kind of the point man.

This was the first time Karcher found himself in this situation, but you never would have known it by the way he reacted.

Grosse Pointe South High School girls' freshman coach Bob Zaranek watches on the sideline during a game against Macomb Dakota at Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe Farms, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020.(Photo: Junfu Han, Detroit Free Press)

Its kind of amazing how this all happened, he said. I cant say we were all ready for this to happen, but prepared mentally, it was all there. Everybody performed.

That, too, was crucial. Karcher didnt have to waste time prepping the volunteers on what needed to be done.

There were probably a dozen people around us grabbing stuff that we needed, just taking care of business, he said. They all knew what we needed to do, so it was awesome.

One of the biggest lessons learned from the incident was the need for the AED. Without it, Zaranek might not have survived.

If you dont have that electric shock from the AED, compressions are just to deliver oxygen to the brain, Karcher said. Youre doing the hearts job, but that doesnt restart the system. The heartruns on electrical impulse and whether you have a dysfunctional rhythm or you have no rhythm at all, that electrical shock can restart it or stabilize it.

Zaranek had a stent inserted in one artery,which was completelyblocked. He is attending cardiac rehab and has returned to work and to coaching.

He understands how vital the AED was to his survival and hopes to find a way to help raise awareness that every school in the state needs to have one in its gym.

Most of all, Zaranekis grateful to Karcher.

What do you tell the guy? Zaranek saidrhetorically. I give him a huge hug and I tell him thank you. I dont know what else to tell him or any of the other people.

They were all there for me.

Mick McCabe is a former longtime columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at mick.mccabe11@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1

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Grosse Pointe South basketball coach is alive, saved by teamwork and AED - Detroit Free Press