Published: Aug. 22, 2018
Saying thanks from the heart
Kewaskum man shows his appreciation to the
bank staff that saved his life
By Nicholas Dettmann
ndettmann@conleynet.com 262-306-5043
KEWASKUM — Three weeks ago, Kewaskum’s Nancy
Brodzeller nearly lost her husband of 54 years, Harvey.
She didn’t because of the quick action by
employees and others at Kewaskum’s PNC Bank.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Brodzellers, along
with daughter Kim Clark, revisited the bank carrying a plate of cookies with a
card reading, “Thank you so much.”
“My dad is on the mend and thanks to our small
community I have my dad with me today,” Clark said.
With Harvey, 78, driving and Nancy in the
passenger seat, the Brodzellers sat in a drive-thru lane at PNC Bank. It was
nothing out of the ordinary.
Then, Nancy looked over at her husband and
noticed he was nodding his head. Something wasn’t right.
“Then he was gone,” Nancy said, adding she
doesn’t remember much of what happened over the next few minutes.
According to Clark, based on what she was told
later, PNC Bank employees rushed outside, pushed the car out of the teller lane
and removed Harvey from the car.
Moments later, the Kewaskum Police Department
arrived and began chest compressions. The Fire Department also arrived and
Harvey was given a shock.
West Bend Intercept showed up and took Harvey
to the hospital. Nancy, who rode in the ambulance with the emergency responders
and Harvey, was told they lost Harvey twice on the way to the hospital — St.
Joseph’s in the town of Polk.
They didn’t quit.
With some more help from people at the scene,
the family’s pastor was already waiting at the hospital by the time Harvey
arrived.
“It was a team of wonderful, amazing people
that just jumped into service,” Clark said.
Clark was at work at the time when she heard of
what happened. On the way to the hospital, life-changing thoughts ran rampant
through her mind.
“Terror,” Clark said when asked what her first
thought was when she heard of what happened. “I was at work. I just dropped
everything and said, ‘I got to go.’ “Then I realized I didn’t even ask if he
was still alive and what bank. I thought I was going to have to say goodbye to
my dad.”
Harvey wound up at Froedtert in Milwaukee and
was in a medically induced coma for about three days. He doesn’t remember any
part of what happened.
It was diagnosed as a heart attack.
He remembered doing some work in the morning
and the next thing he remembered was waking up in a hospital bed.
Clark remembers the first words out of her
dad’s mouth, though.
“How’s my wife?” Clark said. “Who’s mowing my
lawn? When can I work?”
Once he started to grasp what happened, he said
he couldn’t believe it.
“He’s the proud owner of two new stents in his
artery,” Clark said.
Some of the employees who were working that day
were at the bank Tuesday to get the Brodzellers’ thank you. Employees couldn’t
be made available to comment.
However, plenty of hugs, smiles and some tears
were present during the emotional reunion.
It was good to see Harvey alive and well.
Before walking through the front door for the
unannounced visit, Nancy said doing so was tough. It was making her relive a
scary moment in her life.
“I wasn’t (nervous) until I got here,” Nancy
said. “I guess it’s hitting me. I had to be calm then because I had to be alert
and strong for Harvey.”
The experience offered a lesson.
“Just a new sense of ... time is fleeting,”
Clark said. “Take as much as and time as spend much time as possible because
nobody is promised tomorrow.”
Today, Harvey wears a shock vest.
“I want to leave it on forever,” Nancy said.
The Brodzellers also visited the fire
department and the police department Tuesday as the final step of reliving that
day and go forward.
“Now I can cry,” Nancy said.
As for Harvey, he can’t wait to cut his grass
again.
“He’ll be downstairs and I’ll be upstairs in
our family room and I’ll say to him, ‘What are you doing down there? You’re not
supposed to be doing anything,’” Nancy said with a smile.
No comments:
Post a Comment