Basketballer Sejr Deans recalls cardiac arrest on US court

The first Tasmanian to represent the JackJumpers, Deans was enjoying a basketball scholarship in Florida with a professional career beckoning when his world turned upside down.

The 20-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest. For three minutes he was not breathing, had no pulse and has been told he was effectively dead.

Fortunately, his Jacksonville Dolphins teammates and staff instantly grasped the seriousness of the situation and began performing CPR while an ambulance took just eight minutes to arrive after which paramedics revived him with a defibrillator.

"I had a three-minute period where I was non-responsive and with every minute it is 10 per cent more likely that you won't survive so I was very lucky it was only three minutes and I had really good people around me who helped," Deans said.

"At the time it was scary but more so for other people. Now I'm just really grateful to be in good health with my family and friends around me."

As family frantically flew around the world to be with him, Deans remained unconscious for a day before waking up in hospital and being told what had happened.

Reflecting on the drama back home in Riverside this week, Deans said he would be forever grateful for the swift treatment he received.

"I cannot remember the day itself or the day before or the first couple of days after. A lot of this is from what people have told me.

"We were playing a game on a Saturday morning and I sat down while people were arguing about the score. I ended up collapsing to the floor and was having a cardiac arrest.

"For 12 minutes I had really good people doing CPR until the ambulance arrived. I was concussed from the fall and was unconscious for a whole day.

"The school flew my family over which was great but I was pretty out of it at that point. I did not really know what was going on even when I was awake.

"I did not understand the extent of the situation, I thought I had just fainted. But when everyone explained, I understood how drastic the situation was."

With the support of his mum Jacqui, grandmother Ruth and girlfriend Chloe Edwards, Deans began his recovery, rehabilitation and attempt to learn what had happened to him.

"I'm so grateful I've got a circle of people who support me and want the best for me and I'm getting back on course and focusing on the upcoming season.

"I've been to a cardiologist in the past for various team medicals but they've been pretty straight forward and nothing underlying has ever been picked up.

"It's now the college off-season and I was planning to come home anyway so this worked out to be at a good time. After something so traumatic it's good to come back, be with family and friends and just be home for a while."

The Queensland-born point guard, who went to Invermay and Trevallyn primary schools, Riverside High and Launceston College, is still waiting on some test results but said he either has Long QT syndrome, which is a genetic condition affecting the heart's rhythm, or a myocardial bridge in which coronary arteries go through the heart muscle instead of around it.

Set to return to the US on June 6 to resume his four-year scholarship to play in National Collegiate Athletics Association Division 1, Deans is determined not to let the experience halt his basketball career.

"It has not changed anything really," he said.

"It's easy to sit here and say 'why did this happen to me?' but it's just a setback and if I get my health back to 100 per cent and get the all-clear it does not change anything for me. I'm going to keep working hard to be a good person, have a high character focus, get through the next few years in college and move into a professional basketball career after that.

"Obviously, it's scary but I don't think it should change what I want to do and if I get cleared I want to keep on the track I'm on. It's just a setback in my eyes so my main goal is to get back to playing.

"I'm still waiting on some results to know what the next three-to-five months will look like for me. I can shoot, lift weights and jog so I'm just trying to maintain my fitness. When I head back to the States, I'll do more testing to make sure everything is fine and hopefully start playing sooner rather than later.

"If it is a myocardial bridge, I could potentially have surgery on that. If I'm looking to play professionally down the track I would obviously want the issue resolved.

"It was a bit of a freak incident and potentially could never happen again but I'd rather get to the bottom of it and know what it is, not just for me but for the people around me as well.

"For Mum and my family and friends it was super frightening, probably more than it was for me. I just woke up so never really worried but Mum flew across the world to get to me and had no contact with anything in that time so it was frightening to have to turn her phone on and get news whether I was alright."

Playing for City in the Launceston Basketball Association, Deans rapidly progressed through state programs to national squads. He was in the Australian team that won the under-16 Oceania Championships in Papua New Guinea and was selected for under-17 world championships and subsequent under-19 squads but denied the chance to play by COVID.

He was selected as the JackJumpers' first development player and was thankful for the NBL club and its coach Scott Roth's ongoing support.

"I'm still very appreciative to have had that opportunity to be part of their inaugural season representing Tasmania, playing for my home state team. It was a great experience to be part of something pretty special. I only played a tiny bit but I learned a lot off guys who had been pros for a long time and that really helped.

"Being the first Tasmanian to play for the Tasmanian team was pretty special for me and my family and I'm so grateful to have had that opportunity.

"And when I had the cardiac arrest Scott was really supportive and I was grateful to have him and the rest of the JackJumper guys to support me if I ever need them."

Deans' dreams of a professional and senior international career have not changed. Having a Danish father means he is a dual citizen so would not be certified as an import in Europe where leagues have similar rules to the NBL limiting number of imports.

"I want to have a successful college career and then play professionally, whether that is here with the JackJumpers or somewhere else in Australia or in Europe if that's an option.

"I think everybody's dream growing up going through the ranks is to play for the national team so that's definitely something I always wanted to do and most people aspire to."

Deans' return to competitive action is not yet known but he is determined not to let his health scare dominate his basketball future.

"It's such a big thing that I'm sure it will be in the back of my mind but I don't think that will last for long," he said.

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"I now have a defibrillator with me and I trust the people I'm working with and if they say I'm fine to play I'm just going to play and be grateful to be back out there."