Roland Wenk returned to the soccer field Thursday night for a moment he never expected to experience: honoring the coaches, referees and firefighter who helped save his life after he went into cardiac arrest during a game this summer.
Nineteen-year-old Wenk still can't believe what happened to him on a soccer field this summer.
“I still don’t even think that I really processed it, that I died on the field,” Wenk said.
Wenk went into cardiac arrest during a July soccer game at Knox Park in East Aurora. His heart stopped for several minutes, and people nearby immediately began performing CPR.
“I needed CPR for 15 minutes. Just cardiac arrest out of the blue. My heart was stopped for six minutes,” Wenk said.
Before the incident, Wenk said he never imagined something like cardiac arrest could happen to him.
“I would say I am pretty healthy. I played soccer every day for my life, so I never really thought it could happen,” he said. “I knew there was a chance because of how much you are running back and forth and how sometimes your heart hurts, but I never thought it could happen to me.”
Wenk credits the quick response of the people around him with saving his life, including his coaches, referees and a firefighter-parent who happened to have an automated external defibrillator or AED available.
“The lack of early intervention with CPR and access to an AED — if you don’t have those components, the chance of survival drops dramatically,” said Mark Lawinczak, a parent and volunteer firefighter who happened to be at the field and had an AED with him.
Lawinczak said Wenk’s survival demonstrates the importance of recognizing cardiac arrest quickly, starting chest compressions and getting an AED to the person as soon as possible.
“The odds are that out of hospital cardiac arrests, nine out of 10 people won’t make it,” Just King, with the American Heart Association, said. “In this case, this boy is really lucky that people knew what to do, jumped in right away, recognized that there is a problem and dialed 911, started chest compressions, got someone to get the AED and shocked him.”
Now, Wenk’s experience is being used to teach others how to respond in an emergency.
Lancaster High School honored Wenk and the people who helped save his life during a soccer game Thursday. The American Heart Association was also on site, demonstrating CPR for students and families and emphasizing the importance of knowing how to respond when someone goes into cardiac arrest.
For Wenk, the experience has given him a reason to speak openly about what happened and encourage others to learn CPR.
“I would like to tell people my story and just make sure they are CPR certified because, yet again, I am a 19-year-old kid. I am young. I am in peak condition, and something like this could have happened to anybody, even older people,” Wenk said. “Knowing CPR and what to do, you can save someone. It is such an impact.”
The lesson, Wenk said, is simple: Knowing what to do in an emergency can make the difference between life and death.
