Postwoman Notices 84-Year-Old's Mail Piling Up & Knows. Immediately Calls 911
Mail carrier Amanda Nalley has delivered mail on the same route for 13 years in Forsyth County, Georgia.
One of her customers, 84-year-old Rodney Garner, always greeted her with a wave through his front window when she dropped off his mail.
But recently, Nalley noticed Garner’s mail hadn’t been taken off of the door knob for two days.
Sensing something was wrong, Nalley contacted one of the man’s neighbors to see if they knew anything before calling 911.
“I left his mail on the door knob. Tuesday, when I came back, I knew something was wrong because the mail hadn’t been picked up,” Nalley said.
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Deputies and EMTs arrived at the home 20 minutes later, and they went in to discover Garner barely conscious on his bedroom floor.
After further tests, medics said they believed the 84-year-old had been there for nearly two days, but if he’d been there even another hour, he wouldn’t have made it.
“Without Amanda’s input into that, I don’t know if he would have survived another day,” Garner’s neighbor Thomas Cowart said. “Without her inquisitiveness, we would have probably lost him, so I think it’s commendable for her.”
“They said he might have had a heart attack or seizure,” Nalley explained. “He was not responding well. His eyes were open a little bit. They said if he had been there another hour he would have passed away.”
As he recovered, Garner also got the chance to thank Nalley in person for realizing something was wrong and helping to safe his life.
“I appreciated that. A man that won’t appreciate somebody for saving his life, that’s pretty darn sorry,” Garner said.
Garner’s daughter Caroline also praised Nalley for taking the time to help.
“She did not have to stop on her day,” she said. “She was busy. She had a lot to do. She didn’t have to make that extra effort to stop, but she takes the time to know these elderly people and she knew something was wrong and she acted on it. What an amazing angel she is.”
But just like any other average, everyday hero, Nalley replied that it was just another day on the job doing what she loves.
“I was just thankful I pay attention to my route,” she said. “I love my route, I love being a mail carrier and I love my customers, so me giving customer service to my customers and anything I can do to help, I love it.”
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