MISSION ALL THE WAY TO WASHINGTON, D.C. I WAS GOING TO LET YOU. I WAS GOING TO LET ANYONE IN THAT GYM THINKING THAT. IT’S A STORY THAT CAPTURED OKLAHOMA IN JANUARY DURING A HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BETWEEN DOVER AND LIFE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY. 16 YEAR OLD RANDY VITALIS DROPPED GOING INTO FULL CARDIAC ARREST. IT WAS MAGNUS MILLER, AN OPPOSING PLAYER, WHO BROUGHT HIM BACK TO LIFE. I RUSHED OVER THERE AS A LIFEGUARD. I HAD THAT CPR AND AED TRAINING. THE TEEN HELPED DIRECT SCHOOL STAFF ON HOW TO PERFORM CPR AND USE THE LIFE AED UNTIL EMS ARRIVED. THIS WEEK, MILLER, NOW AN OU FRESHMAN ALONG WITH TWO OTHER OKLAHOMANS, ADVOCATED AT CAPITOL HILL TO FURTHER FUND THE HEARTS ACT, PROVIDING FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS TO TRAIN STUDENTS AND STAFF IN CPR, PURCHASE AEDS AND DEVELOP CARDIAC EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS. IT WAS A CRAZY EXPERIENCE. I GOT INVITED BY THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION TO GO AND HELP ADVOCATE AS ONE OF THE OKLAHOMA ADVOCATES FOR 50 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR THE HEARTS ACT. GOT TO SPEAK WITH A REPRESENTATIVE HERN. HE CAME IN WHILE WE WERE TALKING. THE OKLAHOMA TEEN SHARED HIS STORY IN HOPES THAT WHEN THE GOVERNMENT OPENS BACK UP, SO WILL THE FUNDING. I FEEL LIKE YOU CAN PREVENT THIS TYPE OF STUFF FROM HAPPENING. OBVIOUSLY, I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE THIS AND BE THERE AND HAVE THOSE MATERIALS LIKE AN AED, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T HAVE THOSE RESOURCES, SO I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING I REALLY WANTED TO STEP UP AND DO. MAGNUS AND RANDY RECENTLY GOT TO MEET SOME OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER PLAYERS AT AN OPEN PRACTICE BECAUSE OF THEIR AMAZING STORY. TWO OTHER OKLAHOMANS ADVOCATED ON CAPITOL HILL DESHAUN CALDWELL OF TULSA, ALONG WITH SHERRI SHEPHERD, WHOSE HUSBAND, DEREK SHEPHERD, A FORMER OU FOOTBALL PLAYER AND NFL PLAYER, DIED OF CARDIAC ARREST IN 1999, IN
Oklahoma teen saves life on basketball court, advocates for CPR training in schools
Magnus Miller, an Oklahoma teen who saved a fellow basketball player’s life, is now advocating for CPR training and AED availability in schools, taking his mission to Washington, D.C.
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Updated: 11:46 AM CST Nov 3, 2025
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Magnus Miller, an Oklahoma teen who saved a fellow basketball player’s life during a high school tournament, is now advocating for CPR training and AED availability in schools, taking his mission to Washington, D.C.“There’s no way you were going to die on that court. I wasn’t going to let you,” Miller said during a reunion with Randy Vitales, the player he saved.In January, during a high school basketball tournament, 16-year-old Randy Vitales collapsed, going into full cardiac arrest. Miller, an opposing player, rushed over to help, using his lifeguard training in CPR and automated external defibrillator use to direct school staff until EMS arrived.This week, Miller, now a freshman at the University of Oklahoma, along with two other Oklahomans, advocated at Capitol Hill to further fund the HEARTS Act, which provides funding for schools to train students and staff in CPR, purchase AEDs, and develop cardiac emergency response plans.“It was a crazy experience. I got invited by The American Heart Association to go and help advocate as one of the Oklahoma advocates for $50 million in funding for the HEARTS Act,” Miller said.Miller also had the opportunity to speak with state Rep. Kevin Hern during his visit.“I feel like you can prevent this kind of stuff from happening. Obviously, I was fortunate enough to have this stuff and be there and have those materials like an AED, but a lot of people don’t have those resources, so this is something I wanted to step up and do,” Miller said.Miller and Vitales recently met some Oklahoma City Thunder players at an open practice because of their remarkable story. Two other Oklahomans, Deshawn Caldwell of Tulsa and Cheri Shepard, whose husband, Derrick Shepard, a former OU football player and NFL player, died of cardiac arrest in 1999, also advocated on Capitol Hill.
Magnus Miller, an Oklahoma teen who saved a fellow basketball player’s life during a high school tournament, is now advocating for CPR training and AED availability in schools, taking his mission to Washington, D.C.
“There’s no way you were going to die on that court. I wasn’t going to let you,” Miller said during a reunion with Randy Vitales, the player he saved.
In January, during a high school basketball tournament, 16-year-old Randy Vitales collapsed, going into full cardiac arrest.
Miller, an opposing player, rushed over to help, using his lifeguard training in CPR and automated external defibrillator use to direct school staff until EMS arrived.
This week, Miller, now a freshman at the University of Oklahoma, along with two other Oklahomans, advocated at Capitol Hill to further fund the HEARTS Act, which provides funding for schools to train students and staff in CPR, purchase AEDs, and develop cardiac emergency response plans.
“It was a crazy experience. I got invited by The American Heart Association to go and help advocate as one of the Oklahoma advocates for $50 million in funding for the HEARTS Act,” Miller said.
Miller also had the opportunity to speak with state Rep. Kevin Hern during his visit.
“I feel like you can prevent this kind of stuff from happening. Obviously, I was fortunate enough to have this stuff and be there and have those materials like an AED, but a lot of people don’t have those resources, so this is something I wanted to step up and do,” Miller said.
Miller and Vitales recently met some Oklahoma City Thunder players at an open practice because of their remarkable story.
Two other Oklahomans, Deshawn Caldwell of Tulsa and Cheri Shepard, whose husband, Derrick Shepard, a former OU football player and NFL player, died of cardiac arrest in 1999, also advocated on Capitol Hill.
