May 26th, 2025, 7am MDT
Grant Litchfield, 17, of Spokane, Washington, looked down at his track coach’s bloody face and managed the chest compressions and lived long enough for paramedics to arrive.
Just five days ago, Litchfield was sitting in a stake-use activity, learning how to deliver CPR.
Young people’s activities to save lives
On Wednesday, March 14th, 2024, isolated young people at Spokane Washington, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gathered for emergency training activities.
“They planned this rotation to learn how to stop bleeding, how to do Heimlich (operation), and how to perform basic CPR,” recalls Litchfield, “someone brought me a CPR dummy, so I practiced it.”
Bishop Rob Litchfield, Grant Litchfield’s father and bishop of the Manite district, said:
Track practice you will never forget
Five days later, Grand Trichfield followed Lewis and Clark High School practices at a local park in Spokane. He said it felt like another day.
He explained that their coach, Mike Hadway, had just finished talking about Pep and sent it out to do “repeated hill training.”
Litchfield said his coach looked fine when his second to second exercise rotation was on his way home when his teenagers were on his way home, his teammates were leaning against Hadway to wake up.
“So he fell in his face and we rushed,” Litchfield said. “We roll him, his nose is bleeding everywhere.
Hadway was in cardiac arrest.
Litchfield continued: “We’re checking his pulse, but he’s not responding.”
One teammate was called the 911, while the other teams totaled around 20, turning their eyes to Grant of Litchfield and Brody Graham.
Lifeguard Graham was trained to do CPR. However, Litchfield’s teammates didn’t know that he also knew about CPR. They only thought he knew because his father was a doctor.
In an interview with Church News, Grant Litchfield laughed and said, “It’s not like a generational knowledge type situation.”
Graham jumped in first and managed the compression until the 911 operator asked him to talk to him, making sure the compression was done correctly. Graham stopped and was able to make a call. Litchfield knew someone had to continue, so he jumped in.
His son, Bishop Litchfield, said: “He probably said, ‘Well, there’s no one here trying to help.” ”
When Grand Trichfield managed CPR, his teammates began singing “Stayin ‘Alive” by The Bee Gees, a song recommended by the American Heart Association for CPR. Its tempo matches the recommended 100-120 beats per minute for chest compression.
He then felt the bone break – some ribs broke during Hadway’s sternum and compression – signs of effective CPR.
“To be honest, it felt like it was adrenaline fueled and it felt like it was really fast,” he said. “We called 911 and it was about five minutes from when the paramedics got there.”
“He seemed grossly casual, like something like ice water,” Bishop Litchfield said the following day after talking to his son and his teammates.
When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics used defibrillators to allow Hadway to respond again. The athletes were sent to give them room for work before paramedics took their coaches to the hospital.
Bishop Litchfield said he was “very proud” of his son. He was always interested in his medical professionals, but his father did not explicitly teach him this.
“It’s interesting to see how it appears in these different scenarios and look back at what we’ve been soaking up over the years… how God prepares us,” Bishop Litchfield said.
One life was saved, another life changed
A few months later, Hadway returned to coaching and won the state championship in November, leading the cross-country team.
Grand Trichfield is currently 18 years old and is still competing in his last year in high school. Last week he was number one in the high school tournament at Spokane Valley, running a 3,200-meter event. He is scheduled to attend Brigham Young University in the fall.
The spokesman review, a local newspaper, was named 2024 Litchfield and Graham.
Bishop Litchfield explained that the entire experience changed her son’s life. “It appears he internalized it and handled it in a constructive way.
He added: “Grant is intentional, orderly and feels like he was supposed to be there.”
Grand Trichfield thanked God for putting him in the right place at the right time.
“God gives us many opportunities to help people,” he said.
