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Man Was Taken by Emergency Responders to the Hospital. When His Family Returned Home, This Note Was Waiting for Them.
September 02, 2014
"I just couldn't believe it."
A Texas fire department is attracting nationwide attention for actions they took after helping rush a man to the hospital last week for a heart attack.
The individual, John McCormick, 65, was mowing his lawn when he suffered a heart attack, collapsing inside his home as his family called for help. Medics arrived at the scene and took the 65-year-old, who had a history of heart problems to the hospital.
The firefighters followed the medics to the hospital, per normal operating procedure — but it's what they did next that has them in the media spotlight.
Baytown's Engine 4 decided to head back to the McCormick home and finish the job he started. The team mowed the rest of the man's lawn.
Texas firefighters return to mow the lawn of man who suffered heart attack https://t.co/E8nkO1JU6m pic.twitter.com/QipLN0WTS2
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) September 1, 2014
"We're all fighting over who can push the mower first," Lt. J.D. Giles told KHOU-TV.
"I just happened to get off the truck first and grabbed the lawnmower first. We were all fighting over it," firefighter Blake Steffenauer added.
Baytown firefighters' random act of kindness goes viral https://t.co/Bjf4lKXpXT #KHOU #HouNews pic.twitter.com/5fGDJC8eX6
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) August 30, 2014
The entire act was caught on camera by a neighbor who later uploaded the images online.
According to KHOU, the firefighters even mowed the backyard, locked the garage and put the padlock's key in the mailbox.
They then left a handwritten note to the family.
“We felt bad that your husband didn't get to finish the yard, so we did. We noticed the padlock to the garage was unlocked so we locked it and placed your key in the mailbox," the note said. "We are very sorry that your husband became ill, we hope he has a speedy recovery."
"Let us know if there is anything we can do to help you out," it read.
The letter made McCormick's daughter Jeana Blackford cry.
"It just showed me that there's still compassion," she told KHOU. "That people still do random acts of kindness every day for people that they don't know."
[sharequote="center"]"I just couldn't believe it."[/sharequote]
"I just couldn't believe it," Patsy McCormick added. "I just couldn't believe they took the time to do that."
Unfortunately, McCormick — an Air Force veteran — died two days after being taken to the hospital. His funeral is scheduled for next week.
(H/T: The Huffington Post)
—
Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter
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