By Eric Stock

NORMAL – The two trainers who successfully performed CPR on a University High School basketball player during practice last week say they did what anybody would have done.

Emily Martz and Maddie Biehl are two U-High athletic trainers in Illinois State University’s graduate program.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Patti’s interview with Martz and Biehl on WJBC. 

Martz told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin and Patti Penn the AED machine to jump start the heart can be used by anyone.

“Even if we didn’t have the training anybody could have used it because it tells you exactly what to do,” Martz said.

U-High has five of the machines but many schools have fewer than that. Illinois mandates each school be furnished with at least one AED.

Kai Bates-Diop, the basketball player who suffered the cardiac event on Feb. 9, is recovering. His family is raising money to help pay for more AEDs that could be used in other schools in McLean County.

The Illinois Heart and Lung Foundation said the devices run about $1,600.

WJBC helped to collect money for the effort on Friday morning outside the Hy-Vee Market Grille in Bloomington.

The two insist they aren’t heroes.

“This is what we do, this is why we are here,” Biehl said.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].