VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WTKR) - When a Virginia middle school student collapsed after going into cardiac arrest during physical education, school staff members quickly came to the rescue, saving the boy’s life.

It started off as a normal day in March as DJ, a seventh grade student at Larkspur Middle School, and his friends ran around outside during their PE class.

“He ran past me and kind of just fell to the ground,” said Dr. Heather Hamilton, the PE teacher.

Hamilton immediately called the school nurse, who started CPR.

“I checked for a pulse – no pulse – so I immediately started compressions,” the nurse said.

But the situation went from bad to worse when it became clear that CPR alone wasn’t working.

“You could see the moment when the life drained from his face,” another school staff member said.

As soon as the principal, Dr. Tamika Singletary-Johnson, saw one of her students down, she called for extra help.

“We have a panic button at Virginia Beach City Public Schools on our cell phones. I reached for my cell phone and pressed the panic button, so the emergency crews can respond,” she said.

Meanwhile, security assistant Robert Toth knew things were bad, really bad, so he quickly reached for the automated external defibrillator.

“I grabbed it and got out here as quickly as I could. I was a sprinter, but I’ve never run that fast in my life,” Toth said.

After one shock from the AED, DJ’s heart started beating again, and relief swept through the frantic group of school staff.

“Thank God we train all the time. That’s the most important thing. It became secondary for us. We went right into action,” security assistant Michael Baker said.

Listening to what happened that day still seems surreal for DJ. He says the last thing he remembers is getting dressed for PE.

“I just remember waking up in the hospital with my family and them comforting me,” DJ said.

It turns out the track athlete and football player has a congenital heart condition he was not aware of called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that weakens the heart. Soon, he’ll have heart surgery to have a tiny AED implanted into his heart, but for now, he wears a portable AED.

“So, this right here is a LifeVest. Basically, it helps me if I ever do pass out again, it’ll give me a shock,” DJ said.

Sadly, the seventh grader will not be able to play sports for the foreseeable future.

“It’s very hard and challenging, but I’m just taking everything day by day,” DJ said.

He says he’s grateful for the teachers and staff who acted quickly to save his life.