Aspiring Allen firefighter working to make dream come true after suffering heart attack

ALLEN, Texas - An Allen 19-year-old who suffered a heart attack while training to become a firefighter earlier this year is working to make his dream a reality.

Jakob Perez has been hard at work since he almost died seven months ago.

"Every aspect of living for me has been altered," Perez said.

On May 9th, the Citizen’s Fire Academy held its awards ceremony, and part of the program included a demonstration of the physical ability test firefighters must perform. 

Perez climbed to the fourth level of the tower and went into cardiac arrest as he began to lift up a fire hose.

He says his heart stopped beating for 26 minutes, but his pulse came back right before he arrived at the hospital.

"I was just so confused, I didn’t know what was happening, I didn’t know what was going on," said Perez.

Perez had an aortic aneurysm that caused him to go into sudden cardiac arrest.

He now has a valve from a pig's heart and has spent the last four months in rehabilitation to build back his strength.

"What I had been doing before, I mean I had been doing a bunch of running, sprint drills, doing a whole bunch of stuff, to walking just becoming so tiring," said Perez. 

Over time, walking became easier, and soon he was running full miles.

"I remember when I ran my first mile at rehab, it was... surreal. Because I’ve never been able to run a mile in my entire life," Perez recalled.

While his body was getting stronger, so was his desire to follow his dream.

"There’s nothing more that I want to do than be a firefighter," Perez said.

This experience left him with a new perspective on what it really means to be a firefighter.

"I couldn’t be more thankful, but it makes me want to come back, and I want to do that now," Perez said.

His family is proud that this didn't deter him from following his heart.

"We’re all here for a purpose, and he knows what his purpose is, and he’s following his heart no matter what," his sister, Gabby Perez said. 

Jakob hopes his story inspires others to do the same.

"I want to tell you that whatever it is that you’re feeling, that you dream, whatever gets you to keep going, do it," he said. "Do your best and you’ll be okay, trust me, you’ll make it. I’m living proof."  

Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd and other firefighters visited Perez in the hospital.

Perez will have a meeting with members of the department to talk about the next steps to get him back on track to become a firefighter.