PVMHS student remains in critical condition

PEABODY – The 16-year-old Peabody High School sophomore who collapsed at the end of class Thursday morning remains in “very, very critical condition” at Children?s Hospital in Boston, said Principal Ed Sapienza.Sapienza spoke with the boy?s parents Friday morning, who informed him that the student has come out of his coma.Around 9:10 a.m. on Thursday, class ended and the boy didn?t get up to leave, said Police Lt. Dennis Bonaiuto. The teacher and several students saw that he was in distress and immediately called 911.One of the school deans, who happened to be in a nearby hallway, heard the commotion and proceeded to the classroom to perform CPR. Sapienza and the substitute school nurse responded shortly after. Luckily, Sapienza had just taken a CPR refresher course on Tuesday and was able to perform chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until EMS arrived. The boy was brought to Lahey Clinic, and then transferred to Children?s Hospital, where he remains today. It is still unknown what caused the boy to collapse, but police believe it was due to a pre-existing medical condition.?Everything went as best as they could go,” said Sapienza of the students, staff, and emergency response teams.?Encouraging training of staff and taking an active roll in the performance of staff is certainly to be commended,” said Bonaiuto.Those who were first to respond to the incident participated in a group meeting Friday morning, to ensure their well-being. Sapienza said that sometimes an event such as this can cause psychological distress on those involved. Everyone at the high school is to be doing OK, said Sapienza.?I am very, very happy that the boy is showing positive signs and the family is dealing with it appropriately,” Sapienza said. “Our wishes and prayers are out to the family and to the student.”Sapienza has started a family relief fund to try to help families in similar situations. They will be collecting donations through next week.?If public would like to donate, they can certainly send it in care of the high school,” said Sapienza. “We?ll make sure it gets to the right people.”