MARICOPA, Ariz. —
What started out as butterflies for groom-to-be Alex Fenyo quickly turned to terror and panic. He had to rely on paramedics, who would ultimately save his father's life.
"My dad wasn't feeling well, he decided to lay down on the couch and ride to the wedding with my cousins. But my mom had this look on her face that wasn't normal, that something terrible was wrong," Fenyo explained.
As Alex Fenyo and his bride, Jill Fenyo were exchanging vows, first responders from the Maricopa Fire Department were being called to the house, where John Fenyo was throwing up blood.
Alex Fenyo knew most of the family was already at the venue and that his dad was alone with the family dogs.
"The crews from Maricopa Fire and Medical, they worked as a team, they had a couple from the fire department work with my dad, while someone else said, 'Hey, I'm good with dogs, I can take care of it.' They let the dogs out, they calmed them down so they could get into the bathroom and do what they had to do to stabilize my dad, so they could get him into the ambulance," Alex Fenyo said.
Doctors said that John Fenyo, who's survived cancer and a heart attack, burst a blood vessel in his esophagus, and while he'll be okay in the long run, the minutes that day were extremely precious.
"If the paramedics and fire didn't get there when they did, there was a very high chance he wouldn't have made it," Alex Fenyo said.
John Fenyo is back home recovering. Alex Fenyo is hoping to shake hands with the heroes who save his dad's life.
"The whole bathroom was spotless, they gave our dogs water, and they got him to the hospital in time to get a blood transfusion," he said.
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