HUDSON, Ohio (WJW) — A mail carrier in Hudson is being recognized for for going the extra mile and saving the life of a 91-year-old woman in his community.
Chris Poa has been delivering mail and a little friendship to some of the seniors who live along his route for 29 years. Especially to one 91-year-old lady who liked to chat.
“This woman lives alone and likes to strike up a conversation. She likes to sit on her porch and see everything, so he always likes to stop and say hello,” Hudson Fire Chief Jerry Varnes said.
Varnes said friendliness and care for his job made Poa curious last month when he didn’t see his friend for a few days.
“He stopped there and said, ‘I better take a moment,’ so he got out of his truck, made one round around the house and didn’t see anything. Instead of getting back in the truck and doing something like some people would, he took one more round around the house and peeked into the window. He just happened to catch the tip of her foot,” Chief Varnes said.
Poa yelled that he was going to get help and immediately called 911.
Firefighters forced their way in and said they got there just in time.
“We found the lady lying on the hardwood floor against the wall. She had tripped and fell and wasn’t able to get herself back up,” Paramedic Michelle Herchl said. “She said she had been there for two days.”
The 91-year-old woman was taken to the hospital and the fire chief said she’s doing OK right now.
Little did Poa know a the time, the woman he saved was an old friend of the fire chief.
“This woman, I had known very, very well. She was like a second mother to me and grandmother to my children when they were small. It turns out that she is the mother of one of the firefighter’s wives, so all of this small world stuff happened all at once,” Varnes said.
To honor him for going the extra mile, mail carrier Chris Poa received the first-ever Hudson EMS lifesaving award.
“I spoke to her daughter and I just spoke to her today and all of the family truly believe that Chris saved her life and that he’s a special man that’s responsible for their mom and grandmother being alive today,” Varnes said.
