PERRYSBURG, Ohio — Former Glass City Wrangler Myles Copeland and referee John Sculli got to see each other on the court once again, nine months after the former saved the latter's life.
The two were recognized at halftime of the Glass City Wranglers' season opener on Thursday against the Jamestown Jackals at Owens Community College.
"I don't have the words to describe how thankful I am for him," Sculli said before the game.
Sculli collapsed on the court from a heart attack while officiating a game in upstate New York in June 2022 that Copeland was playing in. Luckily, Copeland is a firefighter and EMT and stepped into action and delivered life-saving CPR.
A surgeon told Sculli that if Copeland hadn't performed CPR on him, he likely wouldn't be alive, he said.
Copeland has received national attention since his heroism, and he and Sculli got back together last fall in a story covered by CBS News' Steve Hartman.
"It's kind of a weird way to meet someone, but through that, we've grown," Copeland said. "We have a great relationship. To be back on the court where it all started, it's a great feeling."
The pair's lives are forever intertwined by the incident that could have resulted in a death. Theirs is a relationship that will last for the rest of their lives.
"Just to see everything come full circle from him going down, to him going through recovery, us getting to know each other, seeing him back on the court, it's an awesome experience and it just brings to light how important CPR is," Copeland said.
Copeland is not playing for the Wranglers this season because the incident inspired him to go back to school to study as a paramedic.