AHN Saint Vincent ICU Nurse Springs Into Action to Rescue Driver in Cardiac Arrest

It’s a providential story of an ICU assistant nurse manager in just the right place at just the right time when a retired Pennsylvania State Police trooper had a heart attack behind the wheel of his vehicle in his Fairview neighborhood.

Nurse Colleen Schnaekel dressed up to attend a bridal shower that rainy Saturday, April 25, knew just what to do to save a life when she saw Jim Ruff in trouble, inside his black pickup truck. “Absolutely she saved my life there's no doubt about that,” Ruff said.

There’s now a lasting bond between Jim Ruff and Colleen Schnaekel, the nurse whose quick action kept him alive.

As he was on his way to meet his grandson for breakfast, neighbors saw his truck roll across three Fairview yards in the Glen Meadows neighborhood. “And then...all I remember is everything slowly fading to black,” he said.

It’s conventional wisdom that seconds matter when it comes to doing CPR, but this turned out to be a real life example. If Schnaekel hadn't pulled into her parents driveway at the same moment that Jim's truck was coming to rest across the street, it may have been a very different outcome.

With a 9 year career in nursing, 7 years spent in ICU, this wasn’t Colleen’s first time performing CPR, but the setting, in the wet grass on a rainy morning was anything but typical. “Typically when I'm doing that I'm in a controlled environment where I have lots of resources - doctors and nurses and other staff members to lean on - so I think that's what makes this situation so unique, is I didn't have those resources when I ran into Jim,” she said.

Colleen called 911, and her dad a retired firefighter, who smashed a window to get Jim out of his truck so she could start CPR when his pulse faded, and she heard the sirens. “One of the neighbors had mentioned oh that's Jim - and I remember saying Jim you got to stay with us, you got to stay with us they're almost here."

AHN Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Orestis Pappas says it wasn’t just the timing of Schnaekel being right there to witness the arrest, but it was her skill that made a difference. "You just need somebody who's also capable to recognize and act upon it and that's why the patient's recovery is excellent,” Dr. Pappas said.

The day after the incident, Ruff had a defibrillator implanted, which will track his every heart beat and work to regulate it when needed and shock his heart into rhythm if necessary, to prevent an event like passing out behind the wheel.

After he awakened from the procedure for Ruff and his nurse, the first meeting was emotional. "She wanted to meet me and I definitely wanted to meet her, and I woke up and this beautiful lady's right in front of me and she introduced herself, and we actually hugged and we both cried,” he said.

Colleen seconded the emotion. "That moment was pretty amazing, just the emotions and everything I'll never forget it,” she said.

And Jim won’t forget it either. A man of strong faith, he believes God deserves all the praise for having Colleen be there at just the right moment. “He sent an angel at that time,” Ruff said.