Be A Hero

Five years following a bone marrow transplant and a lot of blood and platelet transfusiojns, Charlotte Rerko remains cancer free.  But it was a challenging journey, made possible only because of generous blood and platelet donors.  Charlotte talks about her journey with Red Cross communicators Jim McIntyre and Christy Peters of the Northern Ohio Region.

Tim Graichen witnessed a violent car crash while on his way back to Akron from a work event in Tennessee.  He used his Red Cross First Aid and CPR training to help save the life of the driver, who showed no signs of life at the scene of the crash.  Tim talks about performing CPR for more than 15 minutes, his worry over being contaminated with the stranger's blood, and what became of the driver he...

She's the Sandra Bullock of the Akron Fire Department.  If you're familiar with the movie Speed, Terra's harrowing story of survival will be familiar to you.  If not - just wait until you hear this veteran firefighter/paramedic calmly recount the scary seconds that could have meant life or death for her and her partner when the ambulance she was riding in went out of control. "I'm pretty sure that...

Three students of the Kent State University School of Nursing helped save a man in distress in downtown Wooster, Ohio.  The man was experiencing a violent seizure when students Audrey Jokovich, Keenan Orr, and Marissa Tyger happened to be walking by as they were working on a school assignment.  They provided aid and obtained valuable information about the patient before EMS arrived on the scene. ...

Hannah Stein saved a woman from drowning in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and Jenna Omar performed abdominal thrusts in her school cafeteria to save a fellow seventh-grader.  Both tell their stories to Jim McIntyre and Christy Peters of the Red Cross Communications Department.

Summit County Sherrif's deputy Brian Gorham and Don Sedlock, a bystander who spotted a fire in his neighborhood teamed up to help rescue an elderly man who was trapped in the home, and have been named Acts of Courage award winners for 2024 in the Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley chapter. Red Cross Communicators Christy Peters and Jim McIntyre of the Northern Ohio Region get their story, and t...

Dylan Fink, who underwent treatment for non-hodgkin's lymphoma at age 14, talks about the importance of having an adequate blood supply for patients like him.  His treatment included multiple blood transfusions.  He's joined by his father, Ed Fink, who with wife Krista started the Fearless Fighters Foundation. Red Cross biomedical expert Christy Peters sheds light on the reasons for the current bl...

Regional Communications Director Jim McIntyre is joined by Mike Parks, CEO of the American Red Cross of Northern Ohio, Emily Probst, Regional Disaster Officer, and Rebecca Siedler, a Red Cross volunteer as they discuss a number of disaster responses that took place in the region and across the country in 2023.

Petty Officer Nathaniel Howard, a Boatswain's Mate Second Class based at the United States Coast Guard Station Cleveland Harbor was off-duty and out to dinner with his girlfriend (soon-to-be fiance') when he was unexpectedly pressed into action.  He rescued a wife and husband who were floating helplessly in the rushing Cuyahoga River in April, 2022.  It's as much a cautionary tale as it is a harro...

Several people were honored with 2023 American Red Cross of Northeast Ohio Hero Awards, after pulling people out of their burning homes.  Amazon driver John Davis, Ubert East driver Christopher Baldwin, Euclid police officers Trevor Thomas and George Harper, and several members of the Cleveland Rams semi-pro football team describe the actions that led to their Hero Awards.  Host:  Jim McIntyre, Re...

Two Toledo firefighters - both athletes - were pressed into service at separate times in 2022 to save a life.  Jim Schule is a lieutenant and a hockey player on a 50-and-over league, and helped save the life of a fellow hockey player.  Firefighter Miles Copleland plays semi-pro basketball and helped save  the life of a referee.  Both used their CPR skills, and the stories both athletes share in th...

Johna Rushlow and Kim Murray were not on duty, but were at home, enjoying a mild December evening when their flight attendant training kicked-in, as they rescued a neighbor from his burning home.  As a result, the neighbor is alive and well, and Johna and Kim are recipients of Acts of Courage Awards from the American Red Cross of Western Lake Erie.

Hundreds of responders helped injured and stranded motorists in blizzard-like conditions on the Ohio Turnpike on December 23, 2022.  The Red Cross of Western Lake Erie is recognizxing them with the first-ever First Responder award, to be presented at the Acts of Courage Award dinner on April 27, 2023.  Three of those responders are featured on this episode - Trooper Andrew Lash of the Ohio Highway...

Red Cross volunteer Coleen Kulkin provided assistance to people in Mississippi following a rash of tornadoes in the spring of 2023.  She describes the heartbreak and the hope she witnessed in this episode.

Sisters Nicole and Lindsey Bechter performed CPR and used an AED on a fallen volleyball player while they were working as referees at Clutch Lanes in Cuyahoga Falls last summer.  They talk about the ordeal, and update the condition of the fallen player.

An Akron police officer who ran into a burning house, and the Akron firefighter/paramedic who arrived a short time later talk about their harrowing experience trying to save a disabled woman from the home.  And two Akron school teachers describe their separate but similar experiences helpingh choking children.  Hosts:  Jim McIntyre and Christy Peters, American Red Cross regional communicators.

Part one of our Hero interviews. Bus driver Jim Kuhn explains how he reacted when a passenger passed out at the door of his bus, likely saving the passenger's life.  And five-year old Easton Spann talks about helping his grandmother after she suffered a seizure.  Both are among the winners of the 2023 Acts of Courage Awards presented by the American Red Cross of Greater Akron and the Mahoning Vall...

American Red Cross CPR Instructor Erin Hosek explains how to perform the lifesaving skill, how to use an AED, and how to help someone who's choking.

Red Cross volunteer Lisa Mize of Huron, Ohio and employee Jill Patterson reflect on their experiences during their first-ever deployment to a disaster response.  They both went, at different times, to Florida to help people who had been affected by Hurricane Ian.

Jamell Fetter, an employee of the Estes Express Lines terminal in Toledo was recently honored by the American Red Cross with a Lifesaving Award for Extraordinary Personal Action.  This episode features Jamell explaining how he was able to perform lifesaving CPR on a coworker, despite having no formal training.  Also featured, the coworker whose life was saved, and the Director of Corporate Trainin...

Four employees of the Giant Eagle supermarket in Boardman, Ohio are being honored with an Acts of Courage award for using CPR and an AED to save the life of a five-year old girl.

As a freshman at Hubbard High School, Baron Reynolds recognized a classmate in trouble and stepped up, performing abdominal thrusts to clear his choking friend's airway.  This enthusiastic young man equates his act of courage to that of a superhero. 

The first-responder team at Classic Optical in Liberty Township, Trumbull County responded when a coworker collapsed in April of 2022.  Thanks to their First Aid/CPR/AED training, Bill Mikesell, Chris Hartzell and superviror Frank Zagotti helped save a life that day.  They tell their story in this episode.

High School student Alexis Starnes is the winner of a Certificate of Merit, the highest honor bestowed by the American Red Cross on someone who used their Red Cross training to save or sustain a life.  On this episode, Alexis is joined by Erin Hosek, the Red Cross instructor who taught Alexis the lifesaving skills she used to help save the life of an infant.  Hosted by Jim McIntyre, Regional Commu...

The winners of the 2022 Acts of Courage Awards hosted by the American Red Cross of Northwest Ohio describe the events that made them award winners.