Keith Hengeli was 45 when he had his heart attack, which doesn't surprise him. His stressful, on-the-go, adrenaline-filled jobof being a firefighter and paramedic eventually caught up with him.
After years of being the rescuer, it was Hengeli's time to be the victim.
Nearly five months later, Hengeli's life has yet to return to normal.
Aside from giving up ice cream and red meat, and counting his calories -- ``If it tastes bad, you can have all of it you want,'' he said -- Hengeli has to remember his six daily medications and doctors' appointments.
His family encourages him to take it easy, and he can't do the job he loves.
To keep his heart rate close to 60 beats per minute and not above 125, Hengeli can't carry his 40 pounds of firefighting gear or hoses and tools, and he can't lift people or medical equipment. A firefighter's pulse could go up to 160 during a call, Hengeli said.
He returned to light duty six weeks after his heart attack. He tried full duty for a while, but soon switched back to office work.
``Right now I can't fight fires or play paramedic.... '' he said. ``Part of the reason we got this job is we like helping people and doing things for people.''
A study by the U.S. Fire Administration that was released in 2002 examines the deaths of on-duty firefighters from 1990 to 2000. The most common cause of death -- 44 percent -- was heart attack.
Hengeli started as a firefighter and EMT at the Brimfield Fire Department in 1991, and went to the Tallmadge department as a firefighter and paramedic in 1993.He said he hopes the heart attack will make him better at his job.
``It's different being on the cot, but (now) I understand more of the patient side and the family's concerns,'' Hengeli said. ``It's been a learning experience.''
Because of his training, Hengeli knew what signs to look for when he was having his heart attack -- the pain, the sweat. But he denied that he was in trouble -- that's what heart attack victims do. He told himself he wasn't having a heart attack, but he knew better.
And so did his partner, Aaron Kuczkowski.
Despite resistance from Hengeli, Kuczkowski radioed for the on-duty paramedic squad. The two men were at a pond across the street from the Tallmadge Fire Department on West Overdale Drive, practicing ice rescue in February.
The squad rushed over and Hengeli knew what to expect as they put the oxygen mask on him and gave him the chewable baby aspirin. He expected the IV and the EKG and all the drugs.
Fifteen minutes later, he was in the emergency room at Akron City Hospital. Twenty minutes later, he was having an angioplasty.
The five firefighters who worked on Hengeli received an award in Columbus last month for their rescue. Kuczkowski, along with firefighters Todd Hurd, Nick Sansom and Chris Bryan and Assistant Chief Pat Gaffney, won a ``You've Gotta Have Heart'' award, which is given to EMS workers for care of cardiac patients.
``You always hear about the brotherhood of the fire service, but I have a totally different understanding of it now,'' Hengeli said.
Hurd said Hengeli looked like a heart attack patient, especially with his pale, sweaty face: ``He looked like our patients who sometimes don't make it.''
But now, the 45-year-old isn't sure if retirement will be soon.
``Right now I don't know what the future's going to hold,'' Hengeli said. ``That's all up in the air right now. That's brought on a lot of thought.''
