Hoefert: On mend and grateful for help

An open letter to the citizens of Mount Prospect:

We truly live in a caring community and nothing tells me that more than the outpouring of concern my family and I have received from the community at large these past few weeks. I am absolutely humbled and my family and I are sincerely appreciative of your concerns and support during this time.

I want to publicly thank my spouse, Linda, who identified that I was having a physical problem and who had the clarity of mind to call 911 and then begin performing CPR before the paramedics arrived.

I also want to thank the Northwest Central Dispatch telecommunicator, Kristi Burke, who calmly instructed Linda on how to do CPR. And a special thank you our very capable firefighter/paramedics Lt. Tim Evans, Aaron Grandgeorge, Michael Hayes, Jim Cloud and Matt Woleben who came to my home and kept me alive until they could transport me to Northwest Community Hospital.

The protocols and level of care that both the paramedics and the hospital employed made an absolute difference in my condition and recovery.

While we live in a world of intense privacy when it comes to medical information, I will break that privacy to let the community know that I did not have a heart attack but rather a serious arrhythmia which essentially interrupted my normal heart function. I also would like everyone to know that I am on the mend and have no permanent damage.

Of all of the basic services that a local government can provide to its residents, "life safety"-related services are the highest on the list. When you need a police officer or a firefighter or a paramedic at your home or place of business, there has to be complete confidence that this will happen and happen quickly.

Because our public safety administration has put a high level of importance on employing up-to-date processes and procedures over the years, we can all have a high level of confidence that this will happen when we need it to happen. I am living proof.

Again, thank you to everyone during this difficult time. I am glad to be back on my feet and I am truly blessed to be able to say that I am looking forward to 2009.

Paul Hoefert

Mount Prospect village trustee