Man suffering from stroke symptoms lives thanks to homeowner, first responders
EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) - A man is alive and well thanks to an Edmond homeowner he was working for along with first responders.
While trimming a tree in her backyard, he showed signs of a stroke. Luckily, she was right there to call for help. After the first responders got there and took care of him, they went above and beyond their call of duty to help even more.
"They're angels,” Jerry McLain said about the homeowner and her sister he was working for. “You better believe, because I never have people out watching me do a job. They're usually at work. If I have been by myself, it had been a whole different scenario."
On a back porch in Edmond sat one of those “angels” 71-year-old Jerry McLain credits for saving his life.
"It was just in God's plan, I think,” said Marilyn Nance, the homeowner that called 911.
McLain owns a tree trimming service. Last Friday, Nance was sitting in a chair on her porch in her backyard while McLain was working. Eventually something went wrong.
"My whole left side went numb. My eye kind of went blind here,” McLain said.
He went to sit down and soon after Nance came to check on him. She said he was pale at the time and realized she needed to act.
"I said 'I'm going to call 911', he said, 'no'. I said 'yes, I'm calling 911',” she recalled of the situation.
Edmond fire and the police department pulled up quickly.
"Had the numbness we check for equal smile, grip strength, things like that,” paramedic Zach Ingram said. “He was showing signs of having a stroke."
McLain was on his way to the hospital shortly after and was forced to leave his expensive equipment and some branches behind.
"That's what I was worried about,” McLain said.
So, firefighters and police came together to help out and go above and beyond their call of duty. They put his equipment away in Nance’s garage and stowed the branches inside his work trailer.
"This, this job is so much more than just running medical calls and putting out fires. It's service to our community,” Capt. Jason Hazzard with the Edmond fire crew that arrived on scene said.
"I just need to lift these guys up in prayer all the time and appreciate them more and more,” McLain said. "I thank God everything worked out perfect for that scenario."
McLain was released the next day and is doing fine. He said thanks to first responders helping him out with the branches and his equipment, he was able to come back and finish the job in Nance’s backyard on Monday.