Holy Cross basketball player returns to court after cardiac arrest

WATERBURY, CT. (WFSB) - Holy Cross High School basketball player Tylon Lott returned to the court in December, nearly 11 months after suffering cardiac arrest in a locker room following a game.

On January 7th, 2025, after a road game against Kennedy High School, Lott collapsed in the locker room and went into cardiac arrest.

“When it first happened, I was in the room and I felt helpless, because I didn’t know what to do. I’ve done CPR training before, but we had some trained personnel doing it, the firefighter, the two nurses doing it,” said Terence Lott, Tylon’s father.

“We thought that he possibly had a seizure, just from how it presented. He was in the process of seizing. His eyes were kind of going back,” said Terry Inabinett, a Waterbury firefighter.

Tylon’s mother, Tasha Lott, described the moment she saw her son receiving medical attention.

“The police officer came and got me and then brought me in the back room, and that’s when they were on the ground working on him, and at that point I had thought that I had lost him,” she said.

Due to quick medical response and CPR, Tylon regained consciousness before being transported to Waterbury Hospital.

He was then placed into a medically induced coma and transferred to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he woke up three days later.

Doctors told the Lott family they believe Tylon went into cardiac arrest due to an irregular heartbeat.

Throughout his recovery, Tylon remained focused on returning to basketball.

“The doctors told me that not a lot of kids like to play after something happens like this. So, I just wanted to show you can still play,” he said.

On December 16th, roughly 11 months after the medical emergency, Tylon returned to the court.

“At one point I did doubt myself a little bit, in the beginning, because obviously I wasn’t as strong and I was barely even able to walk weeks before I came back,” he stated.

Holy Cross boys basketball coach Mike Wilson praised Tylon’s determination.

“To see him fight back and put himself in the shoes he’s in now, come on, forget about it. The respect and the love is, it brings it beyond basketball,” he said.

Terence Lott expressed gratitude for his son’s recovery.

“I’m just glad to see him play, glad to see him run up and down, but more importantly, every day to get up and talk to him, call him in the morning and talk to him at nighttime before he goes to bed. Just to hang out with him and see him hanging out with his friends is always a pleasure, because some people, they lose their kids and they don’t get to talk to them again,” he stated.

Tasha Lott noted changes in her son since the incident.

“His motivation and drive have improved ever since this has happened. So, it’s happy to see him, happy to have another chance at life,” she said.

Tylon said returning to the court with his teammates brings him joy.

“I feel like every time I step out on the court with my teammates and seeing them smile, it just makes me proud to be back out there. Especially when I’m scoring and doing a lot of the things I was doing before,” he said.