Co-worker thanks Verona man for lifesaving moment

Chris Hanke credits his co-worker from Verona for saving his life.

Months after Hanke, 42, had a stroke while on the job, he still thinks back to what could have happened if not for the quick thinking of John O'Neill, a Verona resident for nearly 50 years.

"I'm very grateful for him," Hanke said. "I fully believe, if not for his actions, I might not be here ... The guy played an important role in my future."

Hanke and O'Neill work together at Tanic Concrete Inc. in Fair Lawn. Hanke works as a driver and O'Neill as a quality control supervisor, and they've been colleagues for the past two years. 

One morning in December 2016, Hanke had some trouble getting ready for work. He did not realize it at the time, but his wife noticed he struggled dressing himself.

"As a typical husband, I blew her off and said, 'You're crazy, leave me alone. I'm going to work,'" recalled Hanke.

The morning continued regularly enough after that when he drove to a job in New Milford. While sitting in traffic on Route 208, he rolled up to follow the car in front of him, only to discover he could not move his foot to hit the brake.

He collided with the other vehicle, and then O'Neill arrived to pick up Hanke following the accident.

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As soon as he saw him, O'Neill noticed something amiss with Hanke.

"In the ride when I got there, he seemed real depressed," O'Neill said. "Unlike him. When he got in my van, we were having a conversation and he started slurring his speech, almost like he's falling asleep on me. Right away, I knew the signs and it progressively got worse and worse."

O'Neill, 47, previously worked as a state trooper, but this was the first time he had to help someone he knew personally, he noted. While still in the car, Hanke could not use the left side of his body, so O'Neill pulled over and called for help.

Hanke spent a week in the hospital following the stroke and did not return to work until May. Now he said he's living a normal life, but it could not have been the case if not for O'Neill recognizing the signs of his stroke quickly.

Hanke called the past Father's Day an extra special one as he could spend it with his two children and wife, Rose.

"We got to it quick enough where time is everything in a stroke," O'Neill said, "and we dealt with it immediately, which is great."

A stroke occurs when blood flow to an area of the brain is cut off. Each year nearly 800,000 people experience a stroke, according to the National Stroke Association's website. 

O'Neill and the Tanis' plant manager were Hanke's most frequent visitors while he was in the hospital, said Hanke. 

"Lately you hear a lot of talk about how superheroes don't always have capes," observed Hanke. "Well, for me, John O'Neill is my superhero and I am forever indebted to this man."

Email: jongsma@northjersey.com