KADE Sutton was clinically dead for five minutes.
But it's the teen cricketer's comeback story that is truly the stuff of legends.
The NSW junior all-rounder was at training in late August when he was unexpectedly hit for six, suffering a heart attack at Hunter Sports High that just one in 10 would likely survive.
Sutton's coach Jed Dickson saved his life, performing CPR at a critical moment after fortuitously completing a refresher course just two weeks earlier.
"It's been a bit mentally challenging, I just want to go straight back, and it has been my biggest hurdle because I haven't been able to go straight back," 18-year-old Sutton said.
"But I'm grateful I can play at this stage, I can train with my mates, it's definitely been challenging but I'm grateful that I'm back."
Sutton's memory around the day of the incident is foggy at best, the last thing he remembers is grabbing a green apple and being a bit mad at his mum Kelly, because, he said laughing, "she didn't wake me up" and they were going to be five minutes late.
"I was just having a little lap around the oval with my other teammates," he said.
"I said I was feeling a little bit odd to my mates, but didn't think much of it."
So Sutton kept running, until he started slowly veering off into a grassed area where he collapsed and had a seizure-like fit.
The quick-thinking of his coach saved his life.
Dickson has known Sutton since he played in under 11s, both are members of the Charlestown Cricket Club and he has steered the teenager through the Cricket NSW Youth Academy program.
"He's a leg-spinning, batting all-rounder, full of exuberance," Dickson said.
"Loves cricket, full stop. It's his life.
"He's just infectious with his energy, he's the kind of guy you just love playing with because of that sort of fun, and he's a competitor."
Outside the cricket field, Dickson works in the disability sector where CPR training is a requirement of the job.
Dickson said he felt "lucky" to have had the training in his toolkit when Sutton needed it most, describing him as a "true fighter" who loves life.
"The fact that he's been able to bounce back so quickly from being in hospital, having surgery, coming out and linking up with a cardio and I think it was probably a week and a day later and he was already champing at the bit trying to get back to club training," Dickson said.
"I think the underlying competitive, fighting spirit has just been there constantly for him.
"I mean for Kado, probably the biggest thing is having to put the brakes on him."
When Sutton woke up in hospital from an induced coma, he distinctly remembers a message on the whiteboard in his room.
It said, 'Kado, you're going to be able to play again. You're getting a defib.'
Sutton was diagnosed with a pre-existing genetic heart condition two or three years ago, but had not met the parameters to start medication or be fitted with an implanted device.
His mum Kelly said he was having regular check-ups, but there was nothing to suggest he needed any of that yet.
"I've never had anything like that, and I've never gone into what they called his VF, which is ventricular fibrillation, which causes big trouble," Ms Sutton said.
"When we questioned the cardiologists about that and why it would have happened, they really don't know, they've searched and searched.
"We just have to accept that it did happen, and we were lucky."
Ms Sutton said her son's recovery "doesn't surprise her".
"He's quite pig-headed actually, we've been trying to slow him down a bit," she laughed.
"He's done everything he's supposed to do, but if we hadn't been pushing him to not keep going really hard he would have just gone back to normal, because he feels normal."
Sutton's goal is to play the Country Cricket NSW under-19 championships and he hopes to be fully back on the field by November.
Dickson said he is thankful to everyone who was part of the response that saved Sutton's life.
"It puts a huge smile on my face every time I see him, his family has kept me up to date with how he's going, it really opened the door to keeping everyone involved in his recovery," he said.
"They've definitely made me feel very much like the family, and it's pretty special how welcoming they have been through that."
Sutton said he still gets emotional when he sees his coach.
"Just knowing he did save my life, and you can't really repay someone for saving your life," he said.
Sutton said he is incredibly grateful not only to Dickson, but to his mum and dad who stayed by his side in hospital, his brother Cooper, his girlfriend and her family, the first responders and hospital staff.
NSW Cricket organised for Sutton to watch the Blues play in the first Sheffield Shield game of the season against South Australia.
He had the opportunity to sit in the sheds with some of his sporting heroes.
"That was surreal, that was definitely the weirdest day of my life," he said.
"I was bowling with Nathan Lyon out the back and he was just giving me motivation.
"I know my injury is a bit more severe, but they're playing with injuries everyday ... it was very motivating for me."
Coach Dickson said the next step for Sutton is to play for Newcastle with the Colts.
But for now, he's just happy to have him back on the pitch.
