FRANKLIN, Wis. — Franklin firefighters honored a mother and her son on Friday for their actions that saved a man's life.
"I don't remember anything from falling down until I woke up in ICU but there were a lot of angels helping out," Joe Bruno told a crowd at the fire station.
Bruno was overcome with emotion as it was the first time that he got to be with Tessa Migliano and her son Lukas after they came to his rescue.
"I'm very grateful for all of that and it is a life-changing experience," Bruno said.
On Nov. 28, fate and pickleball brought the Miglianos and Bruno to the Milwaukee County Sports Complex in Franklin.
Tessa and Lukas wanted to play before he left for New York. Bruno was there separately.
"We were not supposed to go there. I don't ever go at that time of the day," Tessa said.
"I was going to sleep in that morning I'm pretty sure," Lukas recalled.
The two were about to squeeze in one last game when someone yelled for Tessa and said man down.
Bruno suffered a heart attack.
Assistant Chief Anthoine said Tessa started to do CPR while Lukas grabbed an AED.
"Together they saved Joseph's life on that day," Anthoine said.
Tessa is a cardiac nurse at Aurora St. Luke's. Lukas has worked as a lifeguard.
"It was just fate that the right people were there and everybody just worked together. It was just amazing," Tessa told the room.
"Pulled out the pads. She had already been doing CPR, and we got it all set up. Got one shock in and Joe came back and it's great," Lukas said.
Tessa and Lukas did not know Bruno or that he has a wife, two sons, and two granddaughters.
Bruno's family was incredibly grateful for Tessa and Lukas' courage to step up and help.
"All tiny miracles. They're just all things that aligned. They shouldn't have aligned and they did. It's like my dad said in an interview, it's angels," said Bruno's son, Adam.
Surrounded by relatives and their pickleball community, the Migliano and Bruno families are connected for life.
"I'm just glad that we can reflect on this as well and celebrate Joe and celebrate our small community as well," Lukas said.
Bruno said he is going through cardiac therapy and is eager to get back to the pickleball court. He also plans to get retrained in CPR.
"Maybe I can pass it forward someday," Bruno said.
