Ohio man owes his life to those who never gave up
COLDWATER —Ron Riber's heart stopped last Oct. 1, 2022, at the Waffle Farm Campgrounds on Morrison Lake.
The West Milton, Ohio man credits nearly a dozen others “who never gave up” for keeping him alive.
When his wife Luanne thanked the cardiologist at Bronson Hospital for saving her husband’s life, the doctor told her, "You people had to get him to me before I could do anything.”
Riber and his family returned to Coldwater on Sept. 1 to personally thank most of those who helped at the Coldwater Fire Station.
Riber started coming to the Girard Township campground with his father at age ten, 58 years ago.
That Saturday, Riber, his wife Luanne, his daughter Kindra Beck, and her boyfriend Chris Foley, were pulling their dock from the lake for the winter when Riber dropped to the ground, and his heart stopped.
With CPR training from work, Foley began chest compressions while Kindra called for help and 911.
Campground neighbor nurse Vicki Falzarano and her sons, Dominic and Nicholas, knew CPR and rotated with Foley and Beck. The group used an AED from the campground office until Coldwater Fire arrived.
Lt. Eric Sherman and firefighters Jeremy Jent and Ryan Barle used a Lucas machine carried on the rescue truck to take over CPR.
The mechanical “thumper” provides chest compressions to the heart to keep blood flowing long after humans tire of the physically draining task.
Beck said the Lucas pumped away for 45 minutes with LifeCare there for on-scene treatment. The EMTs finally kept the heart beating and transported Riber to ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital.
The family credits LifeCare paramedic Katy Brunner and her partner Hunter St. Clair for their extraordinary work to keep Riber alive until he could be stabilized and finally flown by AirCare to Kalamazoo.
His daughter said, “They lost him several times before getting him stable enough to fly. He was given a 5% chance of survival when we reached the Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo,” an hour and 45 minutes after the first call.
Riber doesn’t remember much but heard the details from family and doctors. Doctors prepared the family for the worst, concerned after such long a time with his heart pumped by CPR, his brain would not function.
In a coma-like state, the doctor asked Riber to squeeze his finger, and Riber did. He then moved his toes.
His wife, Luanne, and his three daughters told him the story.
Doctors implanted a cardioverter-defibrillator in his chest. The small battery-powered device detects and stops irregular heartbeats.
Two weeks later, Riber walked out of the hospital.
Luanne said Rob’s kidneys failed. Then, after several weeks on dialysis, “His kidneys started functioning again.”
Beck said her father has “No issues and regained his full quality of life.”
The incident showed how important learning CPR can be, Coldwater Fire Chief Dave Schmaltz said.
Quick response is also essential. Brunner told the family, “Usually when we show up in that situation it’s too late. Everybody’s frantic and run around in a panic.”
Beck said her father was lucky there were so many nearby who knew the life-saving procedure and acted quickly.
The Lucas machine that took over CPR from the humans made an impact. The firefighters said trying to continue the CPR manually is extremely difficult, especially for the extended time needed to stabilize Riber.
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Rob Riber and his family plan to return to Waffle Farm this weekend to close out another camping season.
---Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Heart patient thanks responders
