Sometimes, saving a life is as simple as being a good friend.
Rick Collins, who serves on the board of the Community Foundation of Orange, credited longtime friend and Orange Councilman Mike Alvarez with saving his life after suffering a heart attack.
“God used Mr. Alvarez to convince me to get to first aid,” said Collins, 62. “Had he not had the foresight to say something ain’t smelling right, I’d have died.”
On Valentine’s Day, Collins, Alvarez and their wives participated in a charity bike ride, Tour de Palm Springs. The Collinses went the 25-mile route, while the Alvarezes tackled the 50-mile route. They met up with five miles left and crossed the finish line together.
After taking the requisite finish-line selfies, Collins started to feel pain. He thought it was heat exhaustion or indigestion and was ready to go back to his hotel room to ride it out. But when it was clear the pain wasn’t going away, Alvarez grabbed him and whisked him to the first-aid tent.
“He wanted to go back to the hotel,” Alvarez said. “He was saying, ‘I think I’ll plow through it.’ I saw he couldn’t raise his arms, and I said, ‘You know what, Rick, I’m grabbing you, and you can complain all you want.’”
One of Collins’ major arteries was completely blocked. He was rushed to the hospital and had a stent inserted. After a two-day stay in the hospital, he was sent home and is doing fine.
“Mike would be the last person to toot his horn for this,” said Collins’ wife, Nancy. “He did what any other friend would do.”
