It’s April 18, 2014, at a youth basketball game in Cumming. Ella Collier, 14, trips and falls.
Dr. Dawn Mandeville Brown, who is on the sidelines, sees Ella hit the ground. The teenager stays down, unmoving, for longer than she should. It becomes apparent that something is terribly wrong.
The teenager’s mother, Linda Collier, makes her way from the bleachers and watches Brown begin chest compressions, taking turns with her husband, Darwin, because Ella’s heart isn’t beating; her face changes color.
For the next six minutes of Ella’s unconsciousness following cardiac arrest — the longest 360 seconds of Linda’s life — the mother throws herself on the basketball court, praying: “Dear God, please don’t take her. Please don’t take her.”
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Three years later, Ella Collier is a healthy 17-year-old with a defibrillator implanted in her chest and a desire to spread her message: Life can end at any moment, so follow your dreams. In Ella's case, she chose to pursue her lifelong desire to be a singer/songwriter. Ella performs all over Atlanta and beyond. Her most recent headlining show was at Eddie's Attic, and she came close to a sellout show.
The Atlanta teen is also a vocal advocate for the American Heart Association, particularly regarding the need for defibrillators in public places (especially right now, since February is American Heart Month).
“I perform (music) at a lot of their events and raise awareness … because cardiac arrest is a very real thing,” Ella said. “If it can happen to a 14-year-old girl, it can happen to anybody. But God gave me a second chance, and I’m going to use it.”
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Her second chance at life has meant a tireless dedication to her music.
As a songwriter, she writes about her heart, “but in a different way: heartbreak and feelings. Drawing on my experience and putting it into my music was a big challenge, but it’s also been one of the biggest payoffs ever.”
Her first single, “I’m Gonna,” was released on iTunes Aug. 10, 2015. She said it’s about heartbreak, but also a statement about her desire “to do what I want … how, I’m gonna go do it for myself. Taking that experience (of cardiac arrest) and making it something bigger.” Her publicist, Andi Hill, said sales numbers are not readily available, but “I’m Gonna” has received more than 6,000 Spotify streams to date.
The teenager is a protégée of local renowned vocal coach "Mama Jan" Smith — whose clientele includes big name artists such as Usher, Justin Bieber, Rob Thomas and Drake. According to Hill, Ella has worked with Smith for six years now.
RELATED: The ballad of Jan Smith: Atlanta vocal coach turns singers into hitmakers
Hill said what sets Ella apart as an artist is “her confidence and her boldness, but mostly her songwriting talent. She’s a phenomenal vocalist and guitar player, but she’s got the gift of writing a melody that you cannot instill in someone.”
Added Hill: “You can’t teach someone how to write a good hook in a song, and Ella’s got it.”
Her second single, “Birthday,” was released on iTunes Dec. 9, 2016.
When asked which song is her favorite, Ella said her answer is always: “my newest song, because it’s my most recent experience, or it’s a new idea and I’m crazy about it. I really love the process of songwriting.”
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Ella said that, as a child, she knew every single Taylor Swift and Hannah Montana lyric.
“I would be in the basement at 11 p.m., with the music blasting, pretending I was on stage at Madison Square Garden,” Ella said, laughing. “I’m still like that, except I’m singing my own music.”
Music isn’t her only interest; she still plays basketball. A student at the Westminster Schools, she is on the varsity team. Ella, who’s a junior, plans to go to college as well as continuing her music. As far as which college, she hasn’t decided yet.
Despite having a defibrillator in her chest, she’s just as healthy as her fellow teammates. Her mother said the scar, though, is a reminder of that harrowing day in Cumming nearly three years ago.
“When she fell on the court … I couldn’t believe it,” Linda said. “Here I was coming to a basketball game, and my daughter was about to die.”
She recalls Dr. Dawn Mandeville Brown “being like a commander … pounding on (Ella’s) chest, trying to save her.”
Brown recalls that after performing CPR for some time, she and her husband asked the gathering crowd to call 911 and go get the defibrillator, which was kept in the public sports facility.
The device revived Ella: Suddenly, she had a pulse, and she was breathing on her own.
“It was all kind of a blur until I woke up on the gym floor and I looked up and people were screaming my name,” Ella said.
She’ll never forget that day, and she has never-ending gratitude for those who saved her life.
“Some people don’t get a second chance like I did,” Ella said. “I feel like there’s a reason I’m still here.”
