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A Mailman Was Walking Down the Street When He Saw Something He Just Could Not Ignore. Moments Later He Was Calling for Help.
An Iowa mailman was on his route when he noticed an elderly woman in distressed and called for help. (Image source: KWQC-TV)

A Mailman Was Walking Down the Street When He Saw Something He Just Could Not Ignore. Moments Later He Was Calling for Help.

"It was just more or less timing..."

An Iowa mailman is being credited for saving an elderly woman's life after he noticed that she appeared to be in distress while completing his daily route.

"Walking by her house and she was in the living room, sitting in her chair, but I could tell she needed some oxygen," letter carrier Bill Randall recalled to KWQC-TV.

An Iowa mailman was on his route when he noticed an elderly woman in distressed and called for help. (Image source: KWQC-TV) An Iowa mailman was on his route when he noticed an elderly woman in distressed and called for help. (Image source: KWQC-TV)

The oxygen tank of Karen Boles, who Randall has been delivering mail to for 28 years, somehow became unhooked, causing her to panic and render her unable to call for help, KWQC reported.

"It was just more or less timing because if it would have been a half an hour earlier, she probably would have been complete fine and if it had been a half an hour later. As as letter carriers, we kind of know who's who on our routes," Randall said. "So we look out for them a little bit, anyhow."

Randall immediately made a call for help to Mercy Home Medical Equpiment and, despite it being after hours, Jon Stolley responded to the call to help.

He said that when he got there, the woman was in distress.

"She had some portable oxygen tanks that weren't even together, two out of the three were empty so I at least had one for her to get herself to the hospital," Stolley told KWQC.

Doctors at the hospital said Boles suffered a heart attack.

Her daughter is now crediting the two men for saving her life.

"I just want to express my appreciation for those two gentlemen and something as simple as a little concern and making a phone call really can make a difference in a person's life," Sally Judge said.

"[I]f it weren't for those two gentlemen, my mom may not be here today," she added. "I may have found her in a completely different manner."

The two men, however, didn't appear to think their actions were all that heroic.

"It's just something I would have wanted done if it had been my own mother," Stolley said. "I was just doing my job."

[sharequote align="center"]"I was just doing my job."[/sharequote]

"If you take your time and observe what's really going on our there, you can make a difference," Randall echoed.

Boles was kept at the hospital at the time of KWQC's report last week and was said to be in unstable condition. Her daughter told the local NBC affiliate they are hoping for the best.

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

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