Teammates rescue collapsed athlete 19 months after his brother fell ill

WORLAND, Wyo. - These days Reene Herrera hobbles the halls of Worland High School on crutches and a boot brace to protect a broken foot. Although the injury has derailed the senior's hopes for a return to the soccer pitch this spring, Herrera's spirits are high, because as they say, he considers the alternative. And the alternative is familiar to Herrera.

Since he collapsed during an indoor soccer workout at the Worland Community Center last November he has had a lot of time to reflect on his fortunes. He speaks of his friends and teammates gratefully and he leans on faith, his family and the hearts of his community for support. But some of his deepest gratitude is reserved for his little brother, who may have unwittingly saved his life simply by being the first to fall.

At the beginning of the loosely organized soccer practice, Herrera wavered and collapsed. For a split second his teammates thought he was playing around, something Herrera was known to do from time to time - he would fall back onto the ground and wail playfully, "I'm sooooo tired." But this time he didn't move.

Although it was only a matter of minutes before emergency crews arrived, what happened next seemed an eternity for the 20 or so high school soccer players, especially those who had gone through a similar situation only a year and a half earlier.

The first to his side was Steven Soderstrom. He immediately started shouting directions to others while he prepared Herrera for CPR compressions. Zach Lempka was the first to grab a cell phone and call 911, although several others including community center staff would also try to get through to the emergency line.

As Soderstrom began to do compressions, Matt Altner looked for a pulse but only felt a single beat. Jack Hepp came to assist by helping Altner hold Herrera's arms above his head this to help open the airway. After checking on the 911 call, Kris Mull came to hold Herrera's head again assisting in keeping the airway open.

Emergency crews arrived and took over. Herrera awoke briefly while still at the community center, but he would spend the next few hours in and out of consciousness, struggling for his life. He eventually underwent a surgery to implant a titanium defibrillator. Although it is estimated that Herrera's brain was without oxygen for up to two minutes, he has made a full recovery.

Herrera suffers from a genetic heart condition that caused his heart to stop. The illness was discovered when his brother Jose collapsed during another soccer practice 19 months earlier.

The two instances were eerily similar which, in hindsight, could have had tremendous impact on the reaction and success of Reene's outcome.

It was early in warmups on April 22, 2008 at the Worland High School soccer team's practice field located at the middle school grounds. The team had done some fairly easy calisthenics and began a passing drill. Jose Herrera, a freshman at the time, had complained a little earlier about not feeling very well to some friends but didn't think it was anything to worry about. He collapsed to the ground. The first to his side was his brother Reene and teammate Joel Salcido. Salcido immediately began CPR on Jose while emergency crews were called.

Unfortunately for Jose, he was without oxygen for several minutes. He was placed in a medically induced coma and spent the next four months in the hospital. To this day, Jose continues to improve beyond expectation but he still suffers from the long-term effects of oxygen deprivation to his brain.

Although Soderstrom was on a different practice field than Jose Herrera when he collapsed, he vividly remembers that day.

"If it wasn't for Jose, I wouldn't have reacted the way that I did with Reene. As soon as I saw his eyes roll into the back of his head I knew it was his heart, just like his brother. We all knew this could happen again."

Not that in either case adults weren't available (coaching staff with Jose Herrera and community center staff in the office with Reene Herrera), but the closest to respond were fellow athletes, all of whom had received CPR training as a requirement in their freshman health class. In addition, both Salcido and Soderstrom had additional training and were certified through a lifeguarding class. Hepp, Mull, Lempka and Altner each knew how to respond to their specific and important roles through the same classes. In addition, Hepp, an Eagle Scout, received training through his scouting.

Each of the boys say that either having been there when Jose Herrera collapsed or at least being aware of it helped in their quick reaction when Reene Herrera collapsed.

"In a way," said Reene Herrera, "what happened with Jose was a blessing in disguise for me. He got lucky and pulled through and gets better and better every day."

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish I could have taken that on. I see Jose now and I know it's a miracle that we're around," he said.

Jose Herrera's recovery wasn't as smooth as his brother's though due to the amount of time he was without oxygen to the brain. Reene Herrera says his brother had virtually no motor skills when he was brought out of the coma. He had to relearn basic functions, and even worse, he had to come to terms with the loss of his mother again. (She passed away from cancer shortly before his collapse).

Today, Jose Herrera is fully aware of what happened to him on the soccer pitch two years ago and that awareness made the news of what happened to his brother even more difficult.

After Reene was placed in the ambulance, Soderstrom went to inform Reene's grandparents Duane and Diana Riedel of what happened.

"Jose was right there when I told the Riedels. The first thing he asked was if I got him breathing and if we got oxygen to his brain. Because that's what happened to me,' he said. He knows exactly what happened. Jose's just like the rest of us."

Reene speaks fondly of the Worland community that rallied around the brothers every time tragedy struck their family. Arm-around-arm with his little brother, he has a very clear understanding that some gifts simply ascend expression. It is an understanding most cannot conceive. But Reene and Jose understand it. It must be a brother thing.