EMS Instructor Honored At Baseball Game, Thanks Students, ThedaCare
For Karl Arps, throwing the ceremonial first pitch at the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers’ August 25 game was about more than participating in baseball tradition. It was a chance for the emergency medical services instructor to publicly thank the first responders who saved his life using the very methods he taught them.
Arps, 72, is an EMS instructor with Fox Valley Technical College. He made headlines when his students saved his life when he suffered a heart attack during a classroom training exercise. Against the odds, he’s alive and well thanks to the calmness, clarity and decisive action of his students and colleagues.
“CPR is very important and the faster you can get at it, the better it is,” said Arps, who has performed the procedure countless times throughout his life and career.
Arps recently was recognized as the honorary survivor for this year’s CPR at the Ballpark. The annual event is held as part of a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers game. It brings together ThedaCare and other partners to teach and raise awareness around hands-only CPR.
Arps used the opportunity to thank those who helped save his life, including his team at ThedaCare Cardiovascular Care and ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Appleton.
“The surgeons, the doctors, the nurses – everybody at ThedaCare was just 100 percent behind me,” Arps said. “Anything they could do, they did.”
Back to the Day
Arps’ story unfolded on March, 25, 2026. It was an ordinary day in the classroom, where Arps served as an adjunct instructor alongside lead instructor Traci Blondeau.
The class had just finished a test when Blondeau told Arps that three students still needed to run through a training scenario. Chest pain is always an easy one to do, Arps decided.
“I started the scenario. They interviewed me, took my vitals, asked the questions they were supposed to and got me on an ambulance cot,” Arps recalled. “Next thing I know, somebody was yelling at me to wake up.”
Arps, a Hortonville resident, would soon piece together what had happened. When he started the scenario, he felt a little dizzy but brushed it off. After the fact, he learned as he was going through the exercise, his face constricted and he gasped for air.
Understandably, Arps’ students were confused at first. It looked like he was acting but they weren’t sure. Blondeau realized Arps was having a heart attack and sprung to action alongside the students. After calling 911, the group took turns performing CPR on Arps. They also applied an automated external defibrillator (AED) to help restore his heartbeat. An ambulance transported Arps to ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Appleton.
“Those three students and Traci saved my life,” Arps said of his colleague and students Logan Lehrer, Sofie Devalk and Ben Marsh.
Expert Cardiac Care
Teams were ready when Arps arrived at the hospital. “Everything was done with perfect timing.”
The cardiac catheterization lab was the first stop for Arps. The team tried to place a stent but his arteries were too blocked. Arps would need a triple bypass as soon as his blood thinners cleared and it was safe to do so.
ThedaCare Cardiothoracic Surgeon Thomas Matthew, MD, completed the surgery four days later. On April 1, less than a week after his heart attack, Arps was discharged.
“Dr. Matthew and his team did an excellent job taking care of me. I attribute me being here to that,” Arps said of his surgeon. “He’s kind and considerate and told me exactly what was going on and what they were going to be doing.”
After recovering from surgery, Arps entered the ThedaCare Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation program. The medically supervised program is designed to help people safely resume an active lifestyle following a major heart event, surgery or heart or lung disease diagnosis.
Today, Arps is back to living his life, which includes time with family, golf, flea markets and travel. The joy and wonder of this don’t escape him.
“I’m here to teach again,” he said. “I’m here to love my wife and my whole family.”
Learn Hands-Only CPR
Looking back on his experience, Arps still finds himself in disbelief. “According to everything I’ve been taught, I should not have made it.”
He referred to the statistic that 90% of people experiencing an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest don’t survive. Timely interventions, including use of CPR and an AED, can mean the difference between life and death.
“Karl was truly an amazing case,” said Callie Leahy, chest pain coordinator for ThedaCare. “He had an incredible team of students behind him whom he clearly taught very well. His students conducting CPR saved his life, which touches on the importance of learning this skill. Anyone in the community can learn hands-only CPR.”
Arps agreed. “Recognize the signs of a heart attack and if you can help, please do so. The more people there are, the better the chance of survival.”
People needing more information about heart care, from prevention and diagnosis to treatment and recovery, are encouraged to visit ThedaCare Cardiovascular Care.
Karl Arps is an EMS instructor with Fox Valley Technical College. He made headlines when his students stepped in to save his life when he suffered a heart attack during a classroom training exercise. He is living proof of the life-saving power of CPR. (Photo courtesy of Fox Valley Technical College)
About ThedaCare
For more than 115 years, ThedaCare® has been improving the health and well-being of the communities it serves in northeast and central Wisconsin. The organization delivers care to more than 650,000 residents in 17 counties, and employs approximately 7,000 providers and team members at 180 points of care, including 10 hospitals. As an organization committed to being a leader in Population Health, team members are dedicated to empowering people to live their unique, best lives. ThedaCare is a not-for-profit health system with a level II trauma center, comprehensive cancer treatment, stroke and cardiac programs, as well as primary care. ThedaCare also partners with communities to understand needs, find solutions together, and encourage health awareness and action. ThedaCare is part of Froedtert ThedaCare, Wisconsin’s most comprehensive healthcare system.
Date posted: August 31, 2026