In the floods of 1981-82, the residents of the San Francisco Bay Area were surrounded by 25-inch rainfalls that hit the mountains ruthlessly, causing 33 deaths and damaging over 7,800 homes and businesses. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, the heavy rains triggered mudslides that blocked road access to the upper regions, burying buildings and trapping people.
Jill Hofmann, a licensed marriage, family and child therapist, was one of the residents of Santa Cruz County who was recruited to be part of the County Mental Health Team in 1981, quickly arose to support impacted residents, providing grief counseling and helping them cope.
However, the physical and mental efforts she remembered enduring, such as visiting community shelters or climbing over tree trunks to deliver packaged food, were just the beginning of her story as a Red Crosser. In fact, during the floods, Jill truly saw the lasting kindness and compassion of her fellow volunteers, after which she began her own journey of 43 years as a Red Cross volunteer.
Rishi Leung and his family Photo courtesy of Rishi Leung
In December 2023, Rishi Leung, a 16-year-old in his home in San Francisco, was heading to the kitchen to get a drink when he noticed his grandma walking to the sink and losing her balance. She had just been eating a meal and seeing her disoriented was unusual. He said, “She spun and fell over and that was the moment I realized that something wasn’t right.”
He ran over to assess the situation and help her. His grandma was visibly struggling to speak and thanks to Rishi’s encounter with American Red Cross posters around his school and videos online, he realized his grandma might be choking. In that moment, Rishi remained composed despite the adrenaline coursing through his body and took the initiative to perform abdominal thrusts on his grandma. “I remembered seeing this in the videos. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I had to try to help her,” Rishi explained.
Photo courtesy of Rishi Leung
Rishi’s efforts were successful. Anita, Rishi’s mother, observed from a distance while battling COVID-19 at the time. “I watched Rishi help his grandma and call 911. I was very grateful that he acted, and I remember four EMTs [emergency medical technicians] entering our house with their equipment,” she recalled. “It was a very scary experience, especially since Rishi’s grandma couldn’t speak English. But knowing Rishi was in the ambulance with her brought reassurance.”
During the ambulance ride, Rishi comforted his grandma, translating for her and holding her hand. At the hospital, Rishi watched as medical professionals attended to his grandma, feeling a wave of relief knowing she was going to recover. “I’m very grateful that I was able to help her, and from this experience, I’ve learned how important it is to spend time with family,” Rishi exclaimed.
His family members and relatives were also grateful for Rishi for taking the lead. “He showed up in an emergency in a way that left us all in awe. We were all grateful that he was there and that he was inclined to help people and solve problems,” Anita said. Rishi and his family were glad that they had more time with his grandma.
Rishi Leung with his Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action Photo: American Red Cross
Reflecting on this experience, Rishi believes this was a transformative experience that reshaped his perspective and taught him important lessons. He values every moment spent with his ‘Nanni’ (grandmother in Hindi) and has gained a newfound appreciation for emergency responders. “I’ve learned that being prepared and living in the moment are crucial,” Rishi emphasized. “It means a lot to me that my efforts were recognized, and I plan to become CPR-certified through the Red Cross.”
In recognition of his bravery, Rishi was awarded the Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action at the Presidio Golf Club on June 26, 2024. He has also initiated a machine learning project to monitor his grandma during meals, aiming to increase safety and bring awareness to eating habits. Lastly, Rishi encourages everyone to complete CPR training because “it can save a life, literally.”
Although Art Stine’s official title was, “Northern California Coastal Region Gift Planner Officer,” his contributions went far beyond the role. His selfless personality made him an outstanding and invaluable member of the regional Fundraising Development team. After an impressive lifelong career, including seven years dedicated to our mission, we celebrate Art’s retirement with this Q&A session. It is evident that Art remains a Red Crosser at heart and for life!
Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation Registered Nurse Rachel Heller visits the exact spot outside of Mel’s Kitchen where she performed lifesaving CPR on a collapsed man during her lunch break in June of 2023. Photo Courtesy of Sutter Health
Written By: Clayton Warren, Sutter Health Vitals Contributor
In April 2023, Rachel was on her lunch break near Sutter’s Van Ness Medical Office Building in San Francisco when a man collapsed outside of Mel’s Kitchen and lost his pulse.
Rachel and her mother Sara Heller, who is also a registered nurse, saw several bystanders surround the man and rushed to see if they could help assist a woman who had started CPR. Trained as a critical care nurse, Rachel quickly assessed the situation and offered to take over chest compressions.
“For several minutes I watched Rachel perform excellent CPR,” said Sara. “The gentleman became conscious briefly and then lost consciousness. 9-1-1 had been called and we could hear the sirens coming.”
American Red Cross staff and volunteers are like family, we care about each other’s health and happiness, especially when challenges appear. We first heard Liza Trujillo Frazer’s story at a blood donation presentation at an elementary school where she shared her personal journey with Brian Oftedal, a long-time dedicated supporter of Red Cross educational events. They both have children who attend the same school.
Brian knew of Liza through their mutual parent leadership, and he admires her work, “Liza is all about community. She is a huge support at our school, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like here without her. And how she has managed her own health challenges is remarkable: from being a reliable blood donor to being a recipient, a life-changing transition.”
Liza’s love of families and children was strengthened in her early twenties as a case manager for a private facility for higher needs foster kids and for social welfare programs for teen parents at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. She strived to help clients have the best outcomes possible. The hospital also encouraged staff to donate blood and Liza gladly responded. Over 13 years she gave close to 5 gallons of her blood to help others in need. She was deeply motivated by the sick children she continually saw at the facility.
But things changed for Liza in 2008 when she discovered her own serious medical challenges and was no longer able to donate: she became, instead, a blood recipient, desperately needing our resources.
“I never thought when I was donating blood to help others that, years later, I would be a recipient,” said Liza.
Liza had been stricken with ulcerative colitis, causing anemia, followed by pulmonary hypertension. Along with the pain, treatments, and worry, she now needed blood to save her own life. There were many hard years, but her faith stayed strong, and she had some periods of recovery.
During this struggle, Liza and her devoted husband, David, were amazed and delighted to discover that, despite many odds during a period of recovery, she became pregnant with their first son, Ezequiel, now 8. The delivery went just fine. In fact, the pregnancy helped her into remission.
After a couple of years, she became pregnant again, but now in a worsened health condition. Against the advice of her specialists and facing more complicated consequences, she persevered, under close specialty care and had another boy, Manuel, now 5. Her faith guided her through the worries of doctors, family, and friends.
“I’m so deeply thankful to those who donate blood, because of them, I can continue to be the wife, mom and caretaker my family needs,” said Liza.
Liza’s deep, enduring faith and determination to find solutions to life’s profound challenges are an inspiration to her family and community. She gladly offers her insights on her complicated illnesses and treatments.
“As a member of the American Red Cross Leadership Council, we all thank Liza for her years of blood donation and all the work she does to improve the health of our community today,” shared Brian.
At that elementary school meeting, Liza was representing her role as the Family Fun Coordinator. Indeed, spend some time with Liza and you will reconsider your own worries and see more possibilities all around us. We are so fortunate to be able to help in her recovery!
Anna-mary Geist holds up a photo of her son in hospital when he was born with half a heart 13 years ago. Photo by Alex Keilty / American Red Cross
They found out something was wrong when Anna-mary Geist had an ultrasound at 12 weeks pregnant: her baby’s heart wasn’t formed properly.
“They told us his heart defect was so severe that he wouldn’t make it to delivery,” Anna-mary recalled.
At one of her subsequent prenatal checkups, the doctor said, ‘I don’t know how he is still surviving,’ remembered Anna-mary. “You hope for the best, you pray a lot,” she said.
But survive he did. All the way through a full-term pregnancy until he could be delivered by c-section to be born at noon on September 1, 2010 with two teams of doctors waiting for him in the delivery room, nobody knowing what to expect. Baby Samuel was immediately rushed to a nearby children’s hospital, accompanied by Anna-mary’s husband, Jerry. Anna-mary didn’t see their baby again until after 10 p.m. that night.
“Oh my gosh, he is so cute!” That was her first thought when she saw Samuel, known as Sam, who was severely swollen from fetal hydrops, with wires attached all around him, along with tubes for breathing and feeding.
Their baby was born with Kabuki syndrome – a rare congenital disorder that can affect many body systems, including the heart, intestines, kidneys, and skeleton. Sam had a congenital heart defect – HLHS – hypoplastic left heart syndrome. HLHS is when the left side of the heart does not form correctly, and in Sam’s case, not at all, which affects blood flow through the heart and out into the body
Sam was born with half a heart and required open-heart surgery at 36 hours old. Photo courtesy of Anna-mary Geist
“He basically has half a heart,” explained Anna-mary.
At 36 hours old, their baby needed open-heart surgery that required several blood transfusions. That is how Anna-mary’s journey with the American Red Cross began.
“I came to the Red Cross because the people who receive Red Cross donations are the people who saved him,” said Anna-mary, about the donors who provided Sam’s life-saving blood transfusions.
Anna-mary had donated blood before Sam came along. But after he was born, his family – which includes his father Jerry, and sisters Emily, 15, and Julia, 10 – began to host an annual Red Cross blood drive. They hold it in the first week of September in their hometown in Massachusetts to commemorate Sam’s birthday and as a way to give back to the community.
An open-heart surgery at two days old was not Sam’s last. In his life he has had three open-heart surgeries that all required blood transfusions, and 17 surgeries in all.
“He is a fighter. He clearly wants to be here for something,” said Anna-mary. “We are just along for the ride.”
Today, Sam is a happy and active 13-year-old who attends regular school with some support and plays adaptive sports every week – baseball, basketball, soccer and lacrosse – with other special needs children. His mom says in addition to being the player, sometimes he plays the coach and dresses in a suit, while other days he’s a cheerleader when the mood strikes him.
Sam, as a toddler, greets blood donors at his annual Red Cross blood drive. Photo courtesy of Anna-mary GeistSam’s father Jerry, mother Anna-mary and sisters Emily and Julia host an annual Red Cross blood drive and his mother hosts quarterly blood drives at Intuit’s global headquarters. Photo courtesy of Anna–mary Geist
“He is such a gift. If there is a way we can give back to someone else, why wouldn’t we? Blood donations are easy… and free!” she said.
In addition to Sam’s annual birthday blood drive, in 2023 Anna-mary started hosting quarterly blood drives at Intuit’s global headquarters in Mountain View, California. She is employed by Intuit as an indirect tax research manager and project manager. Anna-mary most recently donated blood on May 7, 2024 at a blood drive at Intuit where 30 of her fellow employees made appointments to donate as well.
Sam also appreciates the blood donors who saved his life. He greets them at his blood drives with the biggest smile. Anna-mary said, “He knows the gift he has been given.”
Photos of the blood drive at Intuit on May 7, 2024 can be viewed here.
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