Annals of medicine: Lost River man races to save lives
Mazama writer-photographer Bob Spiwak, author of the best weekly newspaper column in eastern Washington, occasionally reaches across the continent for newsy tidbits. He reports this week that neighbor Bob Hoekman, a part-time resident of Lost River (the next community upriver from Mazama) has been honored by the Houston Chronicle for racing to save lives. Amend that: he’s been honored for saving lives while racing.
The Chronicle named Hoekman as the city’s Ultimate Race Volunteer for bicycling around marathons and other competitions with a defibrilator on his back. Actually, he’s the force and financing behind a whole team of cyclists with emergency equipment that administer to maxed out runners — the exhausted, the dehydrated, and even the cardio impaired.
The article reads: “The retired orthopedic surgeon and veteran runner not only came up with the idea of using defibrilators at races but also paid for the equipment and recruited and trained dozens of people in how to use it. All his efforts were put to the test in April when (they) revived a 67-year-old doctor who suffered a heart attack during the Chevron Bellaire Trolley Run.”
Spiwak reports that Hoekman joked in an email: “You may all now address me as The Ultimate One.”