FARMINGTON -- Ella Wilson's smile lights up a room, a teenager so full of life that contemplating her life and athletic career nearly ended three years ago seems incomprehensible.
As a Farmington freshman, Ella checked out of Jan. 29, 2015, junior high girls basketball game at Shiloh Christian in Springdale. She sat on the bench, then collapsed and inexplicably went into cardiac arrest. Farmington head junior high girls basketball coach Jessica McCollough yelled for help.
Ella's best friend and teammate, Madison Parsley, was sitting at the end of the bench as chaos invaded the junior Lady Cardinal basketball world.
"I didn't really know what was going on," Madison said. "I didn't want to leave the gym, but they made us leave the gym."
Madison remembers the emotional turmoil she felt as the team walked towards the locker room.
"It sounded like people were laughing. I got really upset because it sounded like they were laughing," Madison said.
She quickly discovered the sound wasn't laughter and the drama got more intense. What Madison heard was crying. Inside the locker room individual players uttered prayers for Ella.
"Pretty much everyone that was in the locker room did their own little prayer," Madison said, recalling, "That's what we did."
Throughout the arena Shiloh Christian students collectively bowed their heads in prayer, then they marched into the Farmington locker room and prayed with the still dazed junior Lady Cardinals.
The intercessory petitions telling Ella's heart to beat again were answered.
Dr. Pete Ball, a Farmington parent, who is an Emergency Room doctor at nearby Northwest Medical Center of Springdale, was seated close by and immediately came to Ella's aid. Two other physicians attending the game and a pair of Shiloh Christian parents who are nurses, including Shiloh Christian school nurse Leslie Fett, joined Ball in a medical response that saved Ella's life.
McCollough ran and got a defibrillator. The defibrillator was used to shock Ella's heart a couple of times. Ella came back to life after the second shock. Her heart started beating again.
Ella admits there were so many people involved in rescuing her from the clutches of death that trying to name each one is daunting.
"It really was everyone trying to help, parents from Shiloh Christian High School to Dr. Ball, who was thankfully there, to help revive me," Ella said.
Support from the Farmington community still overwhelms her.
"They came three hours to Little Rock to visit me. It shows how close we are in this community and how much everyone means to another."
Farmington volleyball coach Marshal Ward is very happy that she's been cleared to play, calling Ella a big part of Farmington's volleyball program and looking forward to a great senior year for Ella. Ella's goals for volleyball are to contribute in more areas, such as serving.
"All throughout my volleyball career I've never served, I'm getting to the point where I'm getting my serve down," Ella said. "Last year, as a junior, I broke the block record at Farmington. My goal this year is to break my own record and set it higher."
Ella refuses to forfeit her opportunity. A member of National Honor Society, she keeps her grades up and has no plans to violate team training rules by going on a drinking binge or getting mixed up in anything that could curb her privilege to play volleyball in the fall and basketball over the winter months of her upcoming senior year.
"I'm not going to put my future in jeopardy by doing silly things that high school kids do."
Each moment is a luxury for Ella. She fully intends to soak all of life in.
"Most people just find me out-going," Ella said. "Some like to say I'm funny. I just try to bring life to the party."
Sports on 07/26/2017