Police Officers Help Veteran Get to Doctor After Learning He Planned To Walk Almost 100 Miles
Sheriff departments across Alabama drove a disabled veteran to the doctor after learning he planned to walk and hitchhike 100 miles to keep his appointment.
When a Walker County Sheriff’s Office deputy first noticed disabled veteran Gerald Baldwin walking down the highway, it was hard to miss the man’s oxygen tank in tow.
The deputy soon learned that Baldwin, a Gulf War veteran, was desperate to keep a doctor’s appointment that was almost 100 miles away in Huntsville.
Good work, deputies! https://t.co/VzIw9SbMme
— WLOS (@WLOS_13) November 8, 2019
Baldwin had no means of transportation but was so determined to see the doctor that he just started walking.
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office detailed the event on Facebook, sharing how deputies across county lines came together to drive Baldwin from jurisdiction to jurisdiction until he made it to the doctor.
“After an overnight stay, we were happy to do it all again today….. in reverse to help get the man back home,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
The story quickly went viral, and eventually reached the eyes and ears of Baldwin’s estranged son, Lance Baldwin.
Lance told WAFF that he and his father had not spoken for roughly five years.
“I couldn’t bring myself to message him. It’s just a lot of bad blood between us,” Lance told WAFF. “But I knew his health was declining and he had cancer surgery the last time we spoke. I should’ve been there more.”
Lance, who lives in Pennsylvania, could not take his eyes off the Facebook post about his father.
“I’ve read that post a dozen times over and over again,” he said. “I still can’t believe they went as far as they did to get him where he needed to be, and then to do it again in reverse to take him back home.”
“I’m not a religious person, but somebody was up there watching,” Lance said.
According to WAFF, Lance plans to reach out to his father to hopefully rekindle a relationship.
“He’s a tough old man,” Lance said. “He’s always been my superman.”
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office has updated the original Nov. 7 Facebook post with a link to a GoFundMe campaign benefiting Baldwin.
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