by JIM CULLEN
A number of locals were recognized this spring for doing the right thing at the critically-right time.
Most recently, two Wallace Middle School buddies, Sammy Ruiz and Bradley Wood, were honored for providing important first aid to an injured friend, Ryan Castillo.
The boys were recently playing on their bikes when the casual fun took a scary turn. Ryan crashed his bike into an unyielding fire hydrant. The bike wreck tore a frightening gash in his leg that would eventually require 40 stitches to close.
Ryan’s friends immediately realized the seriousness of the injury and called 911. While the boys waited for help to arrive, they applied pressure to the wound to control Ryan’s blood loss.
Wallace Middle School nurse Karen Herrmann notes their quick actions may have helped avert a much more serious turn of events.
Earlier this spring, two other life-saving acts drew the attention of locals.
Terri Gomez was on her shift as a cafeteria worker at Buda Elementary when she realized that kindergarten student Jason Payne, Jr., was choking. Gomez began the Heimlich maneuver. Bulldog Coach Frank Espinoza arrived on the scene, took over for Gomez and managed to get the obstruction dislodged.
Also this spring, Dahlstrom Middle School student Cary Clevenger was at the home of his friend Gavin Starnes, outside skateboarding with friend Kathleen Shoemaker. Kathleen saw Gavin’s two-year-old brother, Cannon, falling from a second story window. She called out to Cary and he amazingly caught Cannon in mid-air.
Both Clevenger and Buda Elementary’s Gomez and Espinoza were recognized by the Hays CISD Board of Trustees. Espinoza, a member of the American Heart Association, also received the Heart Hero Award recognition from that organization. School board recognition is planned for the Wallace boys at the regularly-scheduled June meeting.
