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(ThePost) – There are reunions and then there are reunions. The get together at the Strongsville Giant Eagle Market District the afternoon of Feb. 28 was a celebration of a life saved and a thank you to those who had a hand in the Dec. 3, 2015 “event” that could have turned tragic.
North Olmsted resident Ron Glassco, 73, stopped by the Strongsville store to pick up some grocery items on his way home that December day.
“I got a cup of coffee and walked all around the store to check it all out. It was Christmastime so I decided to buy a bottle of Grand Marnier,” Glassco said.
As Glassco was walking out he experienced an all too familiar sensation. He passed out playing golf last July, but recovered immediately and continued his round. There was no such coming around this December.
“I got near the wine area and all of a sudden the lights started flashing in my eyes. I knew what was happening because I passed out on the golf course,” Glassco said. “That was it. I don’t remember anything more from that point on.”
Strongsville Firemedic Brian Polasko was in Giant Eagle the same time as Glassco on a grocery shopping trip for fire station No. 4 on Prospect Road.
Polasko was in line when he realized eggs were not in his cart. He went back to that section of the store, as far away from the wine department as one can get in Giant Eagle.
“I had my head in the cooler. I wasn’t sure I heard the announcement. It was almost like background noise,” Polasko said. “I heard, ‘Would the paramedic in the store please come to the wine section?’ It sounded so non-urgent, but I started running that way. Ron was in full arrest. I radioed for the guys waiting for me outside.”
For those thinking it wasn’t Glassco’s time, Lisa Wosnak, a nurse, had just entered the store at the moment and location when he went down. She had taken the day off from work due to a migraine headache. Wosnak began CPR almost immediately following Glassco hitting the floor.
“It was the perfect storm. All the angels were there,” Glassco said. “I had a lot of prayers in the hospital (Southwest General). I want to thank everyone for everything they did. There were a lot of people involved in this to bring me around and keep me going.”