FLEMING ISLAND – Riley Broadhurst likely would have died if Vivian Primizic hadn’t left her son’s house early on Wednesday, Dec. 13, to drive home.

Broadhurst probably wouldn’t have survived if neighbors Bobby Dopson, Mike Leach and Stephanie Pratt didn’t hear Primizic’s screams.

Dopson was a retired fireman. Pratt is a former emergency room nurse. Leach was retired from the military. All knew how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Leach did chest compressions; Pratt gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Clay County Fire Rescue arrived and needed to shock his heart three times to restore it to a normal rhythm.

After arriving at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, doctors and nurses continued to provide life-saving treatment until he was stable enough to be transported to Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville.

“I was there when he came out of the ambulance,” Christian said. “It was the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen. But I am glad I was there because I would rather have been anywhere else.”

So many moving parts. So many opportunities for a split-second of indecision to be fatal.

“If anything small thing had happened differently, he would not be with us today,” said his mother, Dr. Jennifer Broadhurst.

But not on his neighbor’s watch.

“This kiddo was lucky that it happened in front of our home and that there were people that had background and training who weren’t afraid to help out,” Pratt said. "I mean, our neighborhood is one where we all kind of keep to ourselves and do our own thing. We’d get together for different community events; otherwise, we just keep to ourselves. Something had to be done. We all sprung into action. You can’t ignore that.”

Riley should leave Wolfson’s Intensive Care Unit on Friday. He will be home to celebrate what his father calls “our Christmas miracle.”

Riley trains to be a Ninja Warrior. He was running when he collapsed a few doors down from his house. 

“He’s ridiculously healthy; he’s an athletic monster,” said his father, Dr. Christian Broadhurst, the senior veterinarian at the Clay County Humane Society.

The Ninja Warrior won the fight of his life.  Riley’s heart passed a stress test “with flying colors” on Tuesday. He received an MRI on Wednesday and was to have an internal defibrillator implanted on Thursday. If there are no setbacks, Riley will return home to a neighborhood that’s eager to see him.

“I was concerned. I have worked in an ER for 15 years, and I’ve done CPR a lot of times,” Pratt said. “None of them have ever hit me like this kid. You know, because it was just different. I wasn’t in an ER. It wasn’t my team of people and in my controlled environment. It was in a street in my next-door neighbor’s house. It was personal. It kind of stuck with me a little bit more.

“The best possible outcome would be that this kid was alive. Now he’s going to be home for Christmas. We had a couple of days of not knowing. My neighbors and I were all checking in with each other to find out.”

Dopson said his response was fueled by adrenaline.

“I just had open heart surgery about five weeks ago when this happened,” he said. “Man, I was struggling to do it. But you know, you have to do what you have to do.”

The father said the collapse came on the first anniversary of the passing of Riley’s grandmother.

The family planned a vigil to remember her later that night, followed by watching a musical.

“We wanted to do the things she would have wanted us to do,” Christian said.

“Instead, we ended up at the hospital trying to save his life. I have absolutely no doubt that she played an enormous part in his making it through this in one piece.

“It could have been the worst day of my life, and it turned into one of the best days. The same 24-hour period was unreal.”

Riley still faces “a long road ahead of him,” but he suffered “no long-term effects,” Jennifer said.

Christian said he will be forever grateful to his neighbors.

“If anyone had not been where they were, my son would not be with us,” he said. “It’s divine intervention. I think that’s the truth.”