Graedy Renkema reunited with Mike Leroy, the firefighter who saved his life, during a celebration honoring both of them.
SAN ANTONIO — When 16-year-old Graedy Renkema collapsed during hockey practice in August, an off-duty San Antonio firefighter jumped into action.
Graedy then underwent open-heart surgery a week later.
On Monday, Rampage Hockey honored the assistant coach, dad, and volunteer firefighter who saved Graedy’s life.
“Thank you for saving me, ‘Big Mike,'” Graedy said to Mike Leroy as they reunited in front of their team.
On Aug. 12th, Leroy jumped into action when his son ran inside from practice to warn him that Graedy had collapsed. A trained firefighter for over 20 years, Leroy knew what he had to do.
He immediately started performing CPR on the six-foot-four teen who lay on the ground.
“I didn’t feel a heartbeat,” Leroy told KENS 5.
A little over 20 minutes would pass, and EMS showed up. Graedy’s parents witnessed it all.
“It felt like eternity for me,” Graedy’s mom, Meg, said.
Meg knew this was a matter of life and death, and even if her son lived, he would have extensive brain damage.
The amount of time his brain went without oxygen was deadly.
Graedy was taken to the hospital. They had a choice to make as a family: Risk his life performing open heart surgery to save him or find out what happens if they don’t.
What happened to Graedy was unprecedented for him and his parents. They had no idea there was something wrong with his heart.
There were no signs, symptoms, or tests that showed he had a bad heart. But doctors determined the anatomy of his heart was not formed properly at birth.
Meg and her husband Ben, decided to put their teen through open heart surgery. Their risk would come with a great reward – Graedy woke up.
“All I remember is waking up in a bed and playing video games,” Graedy said.
Without Leroy, Graedy could have died waiting for EMS. Without Leroy, Graedy would never have had the chance to play hockey again.
“I’m so thankful other people were there to help with his resuscitation because in that moment, I was mom,” Meg said.
The man who helped save Graedy’s life was honored Monday for something he sees as his duty, but for everyone else, it was a miracle.
“Get healthy, get back on the ice, we need him,” Leroy said.
Pressing the importance of heart health – specifically with young athletes, Leroy gifted the team a chance to each receive free heart screenings through a program called August Heart if they choose.