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7 Second Avenue Sauk Rapids, MN 56379
“Minnesota’s Oldest Weekly Newspaper”
Vol. 161, No. 27
Sauk Rapids, Benton County, Minnesota 56379
A continuation of the Frontiersman, The Free Press, Sauk Rapids Sentinel and St. Cloud Sentinel.
(USPS 482-240)
October 14, 2015
Even dying doesn’t slow Rick Rassier down Rassier was believed to be dead for 22 minutes, but now is living life like he always has
by BRYAN ZOLLMAN STAFF WRITER
It’s a chilly Friday morning as 55-year-old Sauk Rapids native Rick Rassier pulls on his dry suit and peers out at the Mississippi River from the shores of Wilson Park. Rassier has his freestyle kayak in tow and is planning on taking his kayaking skills to the next level. It’s a good day to be alive, especially for a man who died for 22 minutes on Aug. 29. Rassier was in Wausau,
Wisc., at a freestyle kayaking competition. It was cold and the water was frigid. He always wore his dry suit to keep him warm, but on this day he forgot. He was waiting for his turn when all of a sudden he felt a shock through his body. He tipped over in his kayak. “I remember my body buzzing all of a sudden and thought to myself, oh no,” said Rassier. “I was later told that people thought I was working on a hand roll. But when they saw my paddle Áoating away they knew something was
Fatal crash leaves Blaine man dead A three-vehicle collision on Benton County Road 5 took the life of 35-year-old Brandon Bellamy of Blaine on the evening of Oct. 5. According to the Benton County Sheriff’s department, Tessa Fussy, 17 of Oak Park, had stopped in the roadway to make a left-hand turn into a residence. As Fussy was waiting for eastbound trafÀc to clear, her vehicle was rear-ended by Bellamy. After striking Fussy’s vehicle, Bellamy’s vehicle continued into the eastbound lane and collided with a 1998 Audi Quattro driven by Joan Novak, 52 of Foley.
First aid was administered to all three drivers and an 11-year-old boy who was a passenger in Novak’s vehicle. Bellamy was fatally injured in the crash and pronounced dead at the scene. Novak and her 11-year-old passenger were transported to the St. Cloud Hospital with serious injuries. Fussy was treated at the scene and released. The investigation into the cause of the collision is ongoing. The Benton County Sheriff’s OfÀce was assisted at the scene by the Foley Fire Department, North Ambulance and the Minnesota State Patrol.
wrong.” He was in cardiac arrest. Luckily for him there was a nurse, doctor, registered EMT and another person trained in CPR at the event. All four went to work on him until paramedics arrived. He was later told that his body was turning purple, and his ears were turning black. After desperate attempts to revive, paramedics administered a Lucas device to try and shock his heart back into action. When they administered a Àfth shock, they followed with a shot of adrenaline through his nose. Miraculously, Rassier’s heart kicked back into gear. He was rushed to the hospital where his body temperature was measured at 93.6 degrees. Anything under 95 is considered hypothermia. “I remember before it happened several people said I looked blue because I was so cold,” Rassier said. “But I wanted to get as much paddling in as I could before it got busy at the whitewater park.” Rassier said he always wore a dry suit to keep him warm, and was often teased about it because he wore it even when it wasn’t needed.
PHOTOS BY BRYAN ZOLLMAN
Rick Rassier performs a freestyle kayaking maneuver on the Mississippi River at Wilson Park last Friday morning, less than six weeks after suffering cardiac arrest on Aug. 29. He was unresponsive for 22 minutes until he Ànally revived by paramedics.
But on this day he believed it was the main reason he went into cardiac arrest. “I was also coming off the busiest time of year and was up at 4:30 that morning, drove four hours and chugged 32 ounces of diet Mountain Dew,” he said. “But I run on adrenaline. I
love doing what I do.” Rassier is a physical education teacher in the Foley School District. When he’s not teaching, he’s on the move. He made a name for himself as a oneman volleyball team that traveled around the Midwest taking on high school teams
while delivering a drug free message to students. He works with approximately 250 athletic teams every year as part of his motivational training and team building exercises. After turning
Rassier continued on pg. 2
A birthday party for Mylee by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
Long before she received her wings, Mylee Mae Scapanski gave a gift to the world and each person she met in her 22 months on Earth. Mylee gave a smile. This Saturday, Oct. 17, people will be able to give something back to Mylee as they celebrate her birthday with a party at O’Brien’s Pub in Rice from 3-7 p.m. Mylee will watch from above as her parents, Brad and Kayla, sisters Addi, 5, and Lanie, 3 ½ months, all of Sauk Rapids, and other family, friends and community members gather to celebrate her life and cheerful spirit with decorations, cupcakes, music and more. The birthday party will provide a chance for the community to bring unwrapped presents to be donated to the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital where Mylee stayed. All proceeds will be given to the ChildFamily Life Services department which provided care and comfort for the Scapanski family during and after Mylee’s journey. “I wanted to do something whether she was with us or not,” Kayla said. “ChildFamily Life gave us so much. They try to make your life as normal as possible while your child is in the hospital. Everything monetary from this event will go into the Mylee Mae’s Memorial Fund at the hospital which supports this department.” Smiley Mylee, as Mylee was known throughout the children’s hospital, was born on Oct. 16, 2012. She somehow managed to be a happy, go-lucky little girl even though she suffered from an extremely rare heart disease called Restrictive Cardiomyopathy. The disease,
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
Brad and Kayla Scapanski are here with their three daughters Abbi, 5, Lanie 3 1/2 months and a photo of Mylee Mae who past away Aug. 30, 2014 after complications from her Restrictive Cardiomyopathy heart disease.
which is found in less than 1 percent of children, caused Mylee’s heart walls to be rigid and would not stretch when Àlling with blood. Therefore, the blood backed up into Mylee’s circulatory system and eventually caused heart failure. Mylee was diagnosed with this rare disease on June 10, 2013 when she was almost 8 months old. Two days later, she went into cardiac arrest, survived and was put on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), which provided support for her heart before she received a Berlin Heart; a device connected outside of the body which pumps for the patient’s heart. Mylee smiled her way through each day and was a source of inspired strength for
her family and hospital family alike. She loved dancing to her favorite song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. She delighted in characters the Bubble Guppies, Minions and Olaf from “Frozen” like many others her age. Mylee lived 446 days within the walls of the children’s hospital waiting for a heart transplant before taking her Áight to heaven on Aug. 30, 2014. “She was a pretty easygoing kid even with all of that going on,” Kayla said. “Mylee spent 75 percent of her life in the hospital and those people were her family. I could trust them completely.” The doctors, nurses and staff at the children’s hospital became the Scapanskis’ second family. They still keep in touch, so much so that when the newest Scapanski
daughter, Lanie, was born they brought her to meet their hospital family. “They did so much for us,” Kayla said. “They brought a teleconference unit, so when I came home on the weekends I could bring it up on my iPad and I could see Mylee for the time I was away. They had meet and greets for parents. Anything we would ask for, they’d get for us.” Child-Family Life Services didn’t just care for Mylee, they cared for the family as a whole. When Mylee’s older sister, Addi, didn’t quite comprehend what was happening to her sister, the department made a stuffed animal with a Berlin Heart and gave it to Addi. They wanted Addi to feel comfortable around her sister’s new device. The department helped the family after Mylee’s passing with information on retreats and books for Addi – even creating hand impressions from Mylee for the family to remember her by. The Scapanski family wanted to do something positive on Mylee’s birthday because their little girl stayed positive throughout her treatments and felt it would not be right to be sad on a day that was meant to celebrate her life. “Just for people to be happy is what she would want,” Kayla said. “The one thing we’ve taken out of this experience is to not sweat the small stuff. There are bigger things in life to worry about than the little things. Enjoy every moment you have with your family and your children.” For more of Mylee’s story go to: www.caringbridge. org/visit/myleescapanski or visit Mylee Mae’s Memory on Facebook. Donations can also be made by going to www.give.umn.edu/giveto/ myleemae.
Smiley Mylee kept bright spirits throughout her treatment at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. Mylee’s parents are holding a birthday party to celebrate her life on Oct. 17 from 3-7 p.m. at O’Brien’s Pub in Rice.
Mylee Scapanski never made it to her second birthday, but the life she lived inspired happiness and bravery in family and friends.