ST. PAUL (Minnesota) PIONEER-PRESS

November 4, 2007

Compassion patrol

Benjamin Ruiz survived a 40-minute electrocution. He lost his legs and his arms to the terrible burns. But he didn't lose his faith or his will to live. He has deeply touched a group of St. Paulites who have become his surrogate family. And their devotion.

BY RUBÉN ROSARIO

Benjamin Ruiz, St. Paul's unofficial adopted son, is a miracle of sorts. The 20-year-old rural dairy farm worker became entangled with a downed power line after he crashed into a road utility pole Sept. 4 near Osseo, Wis.

Ruiz, according to eyewitness accounts, was a human "ball of fire'' for 40 minutes until rescuers cut the power to safely approach him. He suffered the most severe of electrical burns - down to the bone. In fact, doctors at Regions Hospital in St. Paul who saved his life can't recall another patient who has endured exposure to 7,200 volts for that period of time and lived to tell about it.

But Ruiz's survival came at a heavy price. Ruiz, a native of San Benito, Mexico, who has no family in the United States, was left a quadruple amputee - both legs and most of his arms.

"Nobody here believed that he would survive,'' said the Rev. Kevin Kenney, pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on St. Paul's West Side and somewhat of an expert on what constitutes a miracle. "Yet, he did. His spirit, his will to live, has been amazing, just incredible.''

I say "adopted son" when I think of Ruiz because that's exactly how Kenney, the staff at Regions' nationally renowned burn center and church parishioners think of him. Call them the Saintly City's compassion patrol. It's a thing of beauty to behold, something inspirational that has arisen out of this tragedy.

"He's an amazing patient,'' said Micki Martin, a hospital medical social worker in charge of Ruiz's case. "His attitude, his outlook on life, his ability to sometimes laugh in spite of his situation is, well, both sad but inspiring. I have never heard him say that he wishes he were not here.''

Ruiz, the eldest of five siblings, came to Wisconsin in search of a job and to help his family back home. His father, Jesus Ruiz Aguilar, 57, is a peasant worker and the sole family income earner, who makes about 200 Mexican pesos ($18) a day.

For more than two years, Ruiz worked seven days a week, milking cows and performing other chores at the farm near Osseo. He sent money to his family.

He was driving home from work on the day of the accident.

A LOVING 'FAMILY'

'I don't remember much,'' Ruiz said during an hourlong visit last week. "The last thing I remember was trying to change a CD on the (car) stereo. I felt the impact and then nothing more.''

Ruiz apparently staggered out of the vehicle after the car swerved off the road and came in contact with the live power line. A helicopter took him to Regions, where he underwent about 14 hours of life-saving and also life-threatening surgery over three days.

"He nearly died twice on the table,'' recalls Dr. David Ahrenholz, associate director of Regions' burn center and a 25-year medical veteran. "He would not have survived the night had he not undergone the surgery.''

Kenney learned of Ruiz's predicament from a parishioner. He has visited Ruiz virtually every day since Ruiz's arrival at Regions.

"I frankly don't know how I would feel if I was in his situation,'' Kenney said in an unusually candid moment for a man of the cloth. "But I know that he is a person of faith. And that helps.''

Some church members set up a schedule to visit Ruiz. Laura Gorman has Saturdays.

"The nurses and doctors there have been so loving towards him,'' Gorman said. "It has gone well beyond just tending to his medical needs.''

Like Gorman, fellow parishioner Antonia Carrera brought a deep maternal concern, along with home-cooked meals and entertainment, like movies and country music in Spanish and English. Ruiz is a die-hard fan of Alan Jackson and Duranquense, a popular Mexican-American ranch music genre.

"I told him that he can consider me and rely on me as much as he wants or does not want to,'' Carrera said. "I can be the mother and the sister who is not here, the family member, whatever he wants me to be, I will be that for him."

If Carrera's name is vaguely familiar to St. Paulites, she, along with her husband, David, chased after and held for police the hit-and-run driver who struck and then dragged 11-year-old Gladys Reyes for a quarter-mile. Reyes, who recovered and is attending school, lost one arm and endured other serious injuries.

"This is what people should be doing for other people,'' Carrera said.

'I WANT ... MY LEGS BACK'

Ruiz's brother-in-law secured a 10-day emergency visa and traveled here several weeks ago when Ruiz's chances of survival were deemed day to day.

But his parents have run into red tape in attempts to secure a similar visa to see their son. Ruiz's mother collapsed and was attended by doctors after the family was informed of the accident. The couple speaks with their son frequently by telephone and has seen recent pictures of him sent by Kenney.

"I want to hold him, to touch him. He's our son,'' his father said last week by telephone. The family has appealed to both Mexican and American consulate officials to permit the travel. Their request was denied, according to the father. Martin said she is working with the family and government officials, without success so far.

Regions also faces the herculean task of finding a suitable place for Ruiz, whether in Mexico or in Wisconsin, following his discharge in the near future.

Kenney said Wisconsin officials, who are reputedly picking up the tab for Ruiz's hospital stay here, are interested in perhaps having Ruiz serve down the road as a spokesman, talking to teens and young adults about the dire consequences of inattentive driving.

"I believe that, that might be something I may want to do,'' Ruiz said in Spanish last week.

He paused and repeated again his No. 1 desire.

"The first thing I want are my legs back,'' said Ruiz, a young man who still doesn't fully comprehend the struggles that await him. He might not have enough leg material left to support prosthetics, unlike his arms.

But who's to deny his request? He should be dead by now. Another miracle could happen. Right now, he would settle for a touch from his father or mother.

"I miss them,'' Ruiz said shortly before I left his room. For now, the efforts of his surrogate family here are greatly appreciated.

"Everyone has been so kind," he said. "I thank them all."