'Angel': Teen Hero, 17, Is Now Fast Friends with 76-Year-Old Woman He Helped Save
Fannie Garner doesn’t even remember getting in her car and driving that day.
Unaware that she was suffering from a brain bleed, she had set out in the pre-dawn hours of June 30, trying to find relief from a pounding headache.
Garner, 76, told WAFF-TV that she’s convinced divine guidance led her about 20 miles from her home in Cherokee, Alabama, to a particular spot on South Dickson Street in Tuscumbia.
“Nothing but God,” Garner said. “It had to be, because I don’t remember it. I got there, and I got there safe.”
That’s where her “angel,” 17-year-old Johnson Thompson, spotted her.
Thompson, who said he’d been unable to sleep due to injuries from flipping a lawn mower the previous week, had decided to work in his family’s workshop.
That’s how he happened to be in just the right spot to see Garner’s car pulling into a parking lot across the street just before 5 a.m.
“She got out of her car and she was stumbling around, so I went out to the end of our parking lot to check to see if she was okay,” he said.
“That’s when she explained to me she had a terrible headache and was wanting to know where the nearest emergency room was.”
Thompson quickly got a chair for Garner and called 911.
Responders took her to the local hospital. After the brain bleed was diagnosed, she was transferred by air ambulance to a hospital in Birmingham.
Later, Garner’s family tracked down the young man, whom they referred to as both an “angel” and a “hero.”
The family created a life-saving award and gave it to Thompson.
“I felt relieved and so thankful for humanity that, you know, somebody would pay attention,” Garner’s daughter, Gwen Goodloe, told the news outlet.
Last week, Garner was able to thank Thompson in person. They told WAFF they expect their friendship to continue.
“I will never, ever forget him,” Garner said while laughing and patting Thompson on the back. “We already have plans for his graduation, and that’s next year.”
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
