Murphy, whose internal power grid could have lit up the arena on its own, instantly shut off. Medical professionals in the stands knew immediately—he had gone into sudden cardiac arrest. By the time Luke made it to the net, Murphy had flatlined. “Where’s the defibrillator?” a good Samaritan asked after checking his pulse.
As Luke provided its location thanks to his earlier walk through, Kate was on the next court over playing a game with Duke. When she heard someone went down, Kate instinctively knew it was her husband, who uncharacteristically donned an all-black kit that day. By the time she made her way over, an ear, nose and throat doctor was holding Murphy’s head, two active nurses were by his side, and CPR was underway as the AED was opened up.
“In the back of my head I’m thinking, ‘Okay, we have to take care of Murphy, but our four-year-old is across the court right now watching this,’” recalls Kate. “And regardless of what happens, I’m going to have to take care of him.”
As each passing second went by, Luke mercilessly put up his own defense. This was the toughest moment he’d ever stared down.
Unleashing every ounce of fight, out came “Jensens never quit!”
Murphy persevered but flatlined again. “Duke and Billy (Murphy’s 22-year-old son) are waiting,” implored Luke.
Two more touch and goes followed. “Jensens never quit!” repeated Luke at the top of his lungs, as tears poured out.
“I’ve never seen anybody with such raw emotion, yelling someone’s name or rooting someone on,” reflects Kate. “The medical people were doing the work, but Luke—honestly—I think carried everybody through that eternity.”