By Thomas J. Prohaska
The Buffalo News
LOCKPORT, N.Y. — A veteran volunteer firefighter and the man whose life he saved after a massive heart attack met again this week at the Lockport Town Board meeting.
The board presented a proclamation to Joseph Kaltenbacher of the South Lockport Fire Company, who was working out Feb. 5 in the Lockport Athletic and Fitness Club when Wayne Shutt, another club patron, collapsed.
Aided by Jeffrey Folkemer of Gasport, Kaltenbacher applied an automatic external defibrillator the club had on hand and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Shutt, 68.
They restored a heartbeat, and Shutt, a City of Lockport resident, was rushed to Buffalo General Hospital. He underwent a quadruple bypass Feb. 8 and returned home Feb. 12.
“There’s no way of thanking you, but I do from the bottom of my heart,” Shutt told Kaltenbacher.
Ironically, Shutt has been a longtime CPR instructor for the American Red Cross.
“One of the nurses at Buffalo General put it to me straight: ‘What goes around, comes around,’ ” Shutt told the audience Wednesday night. The crowd gave Kaltenbacher a standing ovation.
In an interview, Shutt, a retired Delphi supervisor, said he probably survived because he had a large, strong heart from working out regularly.
“They had the [defibrillator] on me in 3 minutes,” Shutt said.
Kelli Ames, Shutt’s daughter, said she is working with State Sen. George D. Maziarz, R-Newfane, on a bill that would require all health clubs to have automatic external defibrillators.
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