REFLECTIONS

Editor’s note: This is the final installment in the story of PaPa Pete, aka Peter Smith, and his experiences in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam. Below, we are reprinting a story written by publisher Nikki Meyer for the Nov. 14, 2024, Mapleton Messenger, which shares how Mapleton police officer, Bob Roelofs, brought Smith back to life on Sept. 7, 2024.

In the early hours of Sept. 7, 2024, Mapleton resident Peter Smith awoke with the feeling that something wasn’t right.

“I felt just awful,” Smith said. He debated between 911 or going back to bed to see if he felt better.

“Thankfully, I called 911,” he stated. He told dispatch that he needed help, and that he’d unlock the front door.

The last thing he remembers for several days is making it back into the living room and to his favorite chair. That’s where his heart stopped, and he died.

A pulmonary embolism, or blood clot, in his lung caused his heart to stop.

“We were told he had no heartbeat, and he wasn’t breathing (when help arrived),” Smith’s wife Dianne said.

Dianne wasn’t home to witness the event. “We have a home in Arizona and that’s where I was.”

Fortunately for Smith, Mapleton police officer Bob Roelofs was on patrol and only blocks away when the call came through.

“I estimate he had to be there within 90 seconds,” Dianne said.

Roelofs initiated CPR upon arrival, delivering oxygen to Smith’s body when his heart and lungs refused to do so.

Mapleton Ambulance and Fire Department arrived.

“We had to work on him for probably 15 minutes before we got him back,” Roelofs said. Peter went 15 minutes with no cardiac or respiratory effort.

First Responders used an AED to deliver electrical shocks to Smith in an attempt to restart his heart.

“They zapped him six times. I didn’t even know they could do that many,” Dianne said.

In order to get Peter out of the house, the couple’s sliding door in the living room had to be removed. They don’t know who took care of that, or who put everything back together again.

A Mayo helicopter was dispatched, landing on the former school property, and Peter was airlifted to Mankato.

“He’d do anything for one last ride,” Dianne joked of her husband, who made numerous jumps from a helicopter during his time in the U.S. Army.

A next-door neighbor was awakened by the commotion and alerted the Smiths’ daughters, who both live in town. They then relayed the message to Dianne, who was able to get a same-day flight and met Peter in the hospital later that night.

After spending a week in the hospital, Peter was released. He now attends physical therapy sessions several times a week., including a recent impromptu session—playing with his grandkids.

“The kids are just fun,” Peter said. From the sound of things, they’re pretty glad PaPa is still around.

But what the Smiths keep coming back to is this: Bob is the real hero of this story.

“I’m just humbled,” Roelofs said. “To see someone come out of it the way he did is incredible.”

“Most folks with cardiac arrest aren’t so lucky,” he added.

Peter now struggles some with word recall and with comprehension of written words. A conversation with him, however, quickly reveals he’s still his spunky self.

“I’m so grateful to everybody involved,” Peter said. “The fire department, the ambulance department — everybody. But if Bob would have been a few minutes later, I’d be dead.”

“It wasn’t” just a heart attack, it was a cardiac arrest. His heart stopped,” Dianne added, noting not many people survive cardiac arrest, let alone those who experience it while alone in their homes in the middle of the night. “Bob saved his life.”

The Smiths presented Roelofs with a black and blue law enforcement flag, a token of their appreciation.

“That was kind of neat,” Roelofs said.