SOUTHBOROUGH – Even after a foul ball resulted in him going into cardiac arrest, umpire Korey Pontbriand can’t wait to get back on the field.
At a Little League game on July 11, Pontbriand was hit in the neck in an accident. Despite having been hit in the same place the year before, Pontbriand wasn’t immediately concerned.
“Just like every other game, I decided to keep on going. It takes a lot, and I’m very, very stubborn on getting pulled off the field,” Pontbriand said.
Dr. Jennifer LaFemina, mother of an Algonquin player and Southborough resident, observed Pontbriand struggling to walk and speak after the incident. Concerned for his well-being, she urged him to leave the field.
Suddenly, Pontbriand dropped to the ground and went into cardiac arrest. He couldn’t breathe and his heart stopped beating. LaFemina and Emily Lutfy, her medical assistant, administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation until the emergency medical technicians could arrive.
“In the moment, we had one focus, which was to successfully resuscitate Mr. Pontbriand. I sincerely believe that the CPR was successful because it was started immediately and without any delay and that those individuals who mobilized to form a team did so with excellent dynamics,” LaFemina said.
Pontbriand shared this sentiment.
“I am beyond eternally grateful for everything that every person did on that day. It wasn’t just one person; it was absolutely everybody,” he said.
Pontbriand was intubated for two days at UMass Memorial Health and in the intensive care unit for eight. He now wears a neck brace to help the tissue damage around his spinal cord. Despite this, he hopes to get back to umpiring within the month.
“If I stopped playing or being an umpire because I got hit by a baseball, I probably would have quit within the first 20 minutes of becoming an umpire,” Pontbriand said.
Being an umpire is fundamental to his life.
“It’s not even about the money for me,” Pontbriand said. “I do Little League games more than high school games because, at this age, I want the kids to understand the purity of the sport and why they get to play the game. I want to show them how fun it’s supposed to be. It’s not about how many home runs or how many times you get on base; it’s about the love of the sport.”
His dedication to baseball was exemplified during the game when he took the time to encourage LaFemina’s son, Greyson, who was struggling against the Oxford team.
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“Korey defines the core of Little League, and I sincerely believe that the good that came out of that night was a direct result of Korey paying it forward through his commitment to the game and the kids’ futures,” LaFemina said.
The relationship between LaFemina and Pontbriand, once strangers before the near-fatal accident, has now grown into a close bond.
“Jen is a part of my family. I talk to her at least three to four times a week. She’s always checking on me and she’s always seeing how I’m doing,” Pontbriand said.
LaFemina also expressed her gratitude for being part of the process.
“July 11 will be the day that Korey, his wife, Jess, and I will be forever bonded through. I have been grateful to Jess and Korey’s mother, Crystal, for allowing me to be part of his recovery and this journey. We are already looking forward to the games that he will umpire for our 8-year-old and hopefully, in two years, for our team when we go to Cooperstown,” she said.
Pontbriand also eagerly anticipates those days.
“I still have a road I need to go down to get through this but I have a lot of support, a lot of love and a lot of people out here,” he said. “I’ll be out on that field before you know it, I can promise you.”
A GoFundMe was made to support Pontbriand and his family during the recovery process that people are welcome to donate to. The link is https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-korey-pontbriands-recovery
