Ava Azzopardi, 14, continues to recover after suffering cardiac arrest during Gold Coast soccer match on Friday, October 15
A Gold Coast teen who suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed during a soccer match is thankfully on the mend.
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A GOLD Coast teenager who suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed during a soccer match continues to recover and is no longer in the intensive care unit.
Ava Azzopardi, 14, ran into trouble at the match between Runaway Bay and Magic United at Surfers Paradise Apollo Soccer Club on Friday, October 15.
Late last week a progress update was posted to Runaway Bay Soccer Club’s GoFundMe fundraiser created in support of their junior player Ava.
“Ava continues to progress and there is some really good news to report this morning,” the update read.
“Ava is out of ICU and is making an amazing recovery at this moment.
“Ava has been up in a chair numerous times, and she can now ask and communicate what she needs and is feeling.
“She has consumed more food, however, gets tired really quickly but is coming along well.”
The soccer club said the Azzopardi family “continues to be overwhelmed with the support from the community and are so grateful”.
The GoFundMe created a week ago had raised $20,866 of its $22,000 goal by Monday morning, thanks to more than 250 donors.
Ava on the mend after scary collapse at soccer match
The Gold Coast soccer community is rejoicing as a teenage girl who suffered a cardiac arrest during a match continues to show “positive signs of recovery”.
An update on Ava Azzopardi’s condition was provided on a GoFundMe fundraiser and on the Football Gold Coast Facebook page.
The 14-year-old “continues to progress”, but “is still in ICU and is groggy from waking up” after her ordeal last Friday.
“They hope to get her out of bed over the next 24 hours into a wheelchair to get her body moving again,” the update read.
“Ava is now breathing without any support and continues to improve.
“She has consumed some food on her own, albeit (a) very small amount.”
Ava has been monitored “by an expert team of nurses and doctors”.
They believe the girl’s progress “is a direct result of the early hands-on actions of the first responders”.
“The Azzopardi family are incredibly grateful for their efforts,” the update read.
Earlier, it was reported referees, grounds people and club staff rushed to perform CPR on the teen before Queensland Ambulance paramedics arrived to help.
The Coast football community has been anxiously awaiting updates and supporters have been thrilled to hear of Ava’s gradual recovery.
“I think this young lady has been on a lot of people’s minds,” one woman wrote on the Football Gold Coast page, adding that “the updates are appreciated”.
“Lots of love to the family and Ava.”
Teen ‘opening eyes’ after soccer field heart attack
October 18: A teenage girl who went into cardiac arrest during a Gold Coast soccer game on Friday night has opened her eyes and is responding to family in hospital.
Ava Azzopardi, 14, collapsed on the field during the grand final game between Runaway Bay and Magic United at Surfers Paradise Apollo Soccer Club on Friday night.
She has been in an induced coma since the incident but showed positive signs on Sunday night.
Runaway Bay Soccer Club junior girls director Al Mucci said: “She hasn’t woken up but she opened her eyes a few times and the family had interactions with her.
“She’s conscious and unconscious. She was lifting her finger, she can see them and she knows they’re there.”
Referees, grounds people and club staff rushed to perform CPR on the teen before nine ambulance crews arrived to revive her.
It’s understood Ava had been on the field just 30 seconds when she collapsed.
A GoFundMe page has set up by the club to support Ava and her family has since raised more than $10,000 in just 24 hours.
Supporters can donate to the page via gofundme.com/f/help-ava-azzopardi.
“She is well-loved in the community and the family are so humble and so gracious,” Mr Mucci said.
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