Excerpts from dnainfo.com:
Retired Chicago Fire Department Lt. Robert “Bob” Zolna visits the firehouse in Mount Greenwood six days a week to have coffee with firefighters, paramedics, and others.
But at 6:49 p.m. Feb. 9, those same firefighters and paramedics were dispatched to Zolna’s home in West Beverly. They found him suffering from low blood sugar, which sent him into cardiac arrest.
The medics shocked Zolna’s heart six times in 10 minutes and were able to revive him. He’s since returned to the firehouse at 3112 W. 111th St. — seated in the same chair surrounded by the men and women who saved his life.
Zolna retired from the fire department in 1998. His last assignment was at Engine 88, now at 3637 W. 59th St. in West Lawn. And every day — except Sunday — he visits the firehouse near his home between 9-10 a.m.
On the day of his heart attack, Zolna missed his morning coffee because of a doctor’s appointment. A diabetic for 40 years, he returned home, went down into his basement and fell asleep in a chair. He skipped lunch that day and when his wife, Luce, came home she noticed the dog that hates him running around the kitchen barking at the top of the stairs.
She went down into the basement and found him making strange noises. He was cold to the touch and soon began thrashing around. She called her neighbor, Katherine “Kitty” Giblin, an ambulance commander with the fire department.
Both assumed that Zolna’s blood sugar was off. That’s when Luce Zolna called another nearby paramedic, Victoria Janozik. She called the firehouse directly. Giblin called 911.
Firefighters and paramedics were able to stabilize him enough to take him to the hospital where his heart stopped again in the emergency room. Zolna pulled through and was later transferred to the University of Chicago Hospital where doctors installed a combination pacemaker and defibrillator device.
On March 21, Zolna was back at the firehouse for coffee.
A ceremony honoring the firefighters and paramedics that saved Zolna’s life is set for May 24 at the Robert J. Quinn Fire Academy. Zolna expects to be there, adding that he feels great after his near-death experience.
thanks Dan
