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Lodi Fire Engineer John Heinrich poses for photos with Bill Trujillo, whom he saved while off duty. Trujillo suffered a heart attack while riding his bike. Heinrich and his wife pulled over to aid the man until help could arrive. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)
Giving thanks in Lodi
For a life saved
Three months ago, 85-year-old Bill Trujillo went on a bicycle ride around his Lodi neighborhood.
The retired longshoreman strapped on his helmet and set out on a route he'd traveled many times.
There, his memory of that day stops. It picks up 20 days later, when he regained consciousness in a hospital and was told he'd suffered a heart attack, fallen off his bicycle and ultimately underwent six-way bypass surgery. He credits an off-duty Lodi firefighter with saving his life.
"He's a pretty smart kid," Trujillo said of Lodi Fire Engineer John Heinrich, who has worked in the fire service for 22 years and smiled at the word "kid."
As for Heinrich, he shies away from attention had tried to stay beneath the radar after restoring Trujillo's heartbeat. But fire and city officials gave him an award two days before Thanksgiving as Trujillo looked on and dozens of friends, firefighters and high school ROP students applauded.
"This is the Thanksgiving time, a time to be thankful," said interim Fire Chief Kevin Donnelly. "We often don't take the time to think of the simple things in life, like breathing."
He, along with City Manager Blair King, publicly praised Heinrich for his quick actions that restored Trujillo's breath and heartbeat until more help arrived.
"That's the heart of the fire service — giving back to the community," Donnelly said. "You don't see (Heinrich) in uniform 24/7, but he's here for the community 24/7."
Heinrich thanked officials for the award and plaque, but also said he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
"There's not one person in this room that wouldn't have done the same thing," he said at the ceremony held in Carnegie Forum.
On Aug. 24, Heinrich was off-duty and traveling with his wife to Wal-Mart to buy supplies for the high school class he helps teach. They were at the intersection of Elm Street and Mills Avenue when they saw Trujillo lying in the street, tangled in a bicycle about a block south. They detoured and drove to the man, where Heinrich jumped out of the vehicle. A bystander was about to move Trujillo out of the roadway, but the firefighter said to wait, in case the man had spinal injuries.
"I checked for a pulse, and he didn't have one," Heinrich said.
It all happened very quickly, Heinrich said, but instinct and training kicked in instantly.
He started CPR while using his cell phone to call for help. Fellow on-duty firefighters arrived with a defibrillator and used it twice before Trujillo's heart started beating again.
"Really, all I did was keep him alive until they got here with the defibrillator," Heinrich said.
An ambulance soon arrived and took Trujillo to Lodi Memorial Hospital. He was then transferred to Mercy Hospital in Sacramento.
He spent 20 days in the hospital and underwent the six-way bypass surgery, which required that doctors take veins from both legs and his left arm. Then he spent another 10 days in a rehabilitation home.
He maintained his sense of humor — his son said Trujillo's first question in the hospital was, "Is my hair still dark?" — and doesn't intend to let the heart problem set him back too much.
"A guy always wants to live a little longer, even though 85 is a lot of years," he said.
His son, Mike Trujillo, of Acampo, said he hopes his father's story encourages citizens to take a minute to stop if they see someone in need. If Heinrich hadn't stopped and immediately helped, too much time would have passed before someone could have tried to restart his father's heart.
Mike Trujillo noted that Heinrich's training saved his father's life, allowing the family to celebrate Thanksgiving today.
"He acted not only as a fireman but as a citizen," he said. "We should probably all learn CPR."
Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.
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mrjake wrote on Nov 26, 2009 8:49 AM:
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