Grateful spirits were high as Herb and Pam Schaedler and Troy Barney met in front of the River Valley Transit Center to honor Barney a month after his quick actions saved Herb’s life.

It was the last run of the night Thursday, Sept. 12, for River Valley Transit bus operator Barney when, as Herb was boarding, he suddenly collapsed.

“I could not pick him up and Troy jumped out of that seat so fast and got him under the arms,” said Herb’s wife, Pam.

Amidst the chaos of the moment, a hospital cardiologist was calling Pam’s phone, to alert her that Herb was in cardiac arrest.

“He was arguing with us a little bit, and I said, ‘no, you need to go back in,’ and Troy was my cheerleader, and said, ‘you need to listen to your wife,” she said.

Barney then diverted his bus from its route and took the couple back to the hospital and helped him into a wheelchair.

“I was worried about holding his run up and all he kept saying is, ‘don’t worry about that,'” Pam said.

It would turn out that Herb had a 99% blockage and was put into surgery the next day.

A month out of the hospital, Herb said his recovery couldn’t be going better.

“It’s like getting a second chance, you know,” he said.

“His actions impacted our life in the most positive way. It was a true act of heroism,” Pam said.

“That’s just how I was raised, as a man with character and morals,” Barney said of his life saving actions.

“I’m honored and thankful just to be in a position to help our community,” he said.

“When you have employees that go above and beyond, but this is a once in a lifetime thing,” said Skip Cochran, marketing director for River Valley Transit.

“It makes us feel good as a team that we have a new guy that knows what he’s doing,” he said of Barney, who at that point had only been employed with RVT for four months.

“Our longest running driver just finished after 43 years and he never had to save a life. You were in the right place at the right time,” Cochran said.

“Every single one of our employees should know how this guy treated our passengers,” Cochran said.

“Everybody should know that we really do want to make sure that everybody’s safe. Public transit is getting you there safely and about taking care of our community,” he said.

“We ride the bus quite a bit, and we always look forward to seeing him,” Herb said.

“The impact that it had on our lives is indescribable, and I will forever be grateful,” Pam said, pointing out that the reunion occurred on the couples’ 27th wedding anniversary.

“It’s had a great impact on my life, too, to be there for them and them showing how much they appreciate me taking action and helping out for them,” Barney said.

“Just them noticing that did a lot for me, and I really appreciate you guys,” Barney said to the pair.

“I don’t know how the universe works, but there was a reason that you were there that night, at that time,” she said to Barney.

During the reunion, Barney was presented with a token of appreciation from the Executive Director, Todd Wright.

Next up for the newly formed friends? A dinner invitation for Barney for a home cooked meal of his choosing.