Living with asthma can be difficult. The symptoms can flare up at the most unexpected times catching the sufferer off guard. While there are many treatments available for it today, the illness still poses a serious threat to some twenty-five million people in America, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Proof of this is the case of a woman from Virginia who ended up being saved by a FedEx driver. For her, a supposedly uneventful trip to take out the trash turned into a life-or-death situation when she suffered from an unexpected asthma attack.
A bad bout of asthma
Virginia Beach resident Nancy Mitchell told a local television station about her scary experience. Apparently, she was just taking out some boxes to put in the dumpster when she suddenly felt like she couldn’t catch her breath.
Gasping for air, the ordeal left her barely being able to walk. Because of this, she wasn’t able to quickly get back inside her apartment to get the one thing that could save her life: her inhaler.
While visibly holding back her emotions, she told WTKR about what happened next and the man who would end up saving her:
“I was huffing and puffing and I wouldn’t have made it. I got to my front area here and just collapsed…I wouldn’t have survived, so I’m very grateful for him.”
Lucky for the struggling woman, Joshua Gibson, a FedEx driver, was in the neighborhood. He was about to end his shift and was delivering some final boxes in the apartment complex where Nancy lived. That’s when he spotted her.
He didn’t immediately recognize the emergency, though. As Joshua admitted, he thought the woman was just greeting him. But everything quickly clicked and he realized that Nancy looked like she was in pain.
A FedEx driver to the rescue
Joshua sprang into action and fetched Nancy’s inhaler from her home. Shortly after that, he called 911 and even stayed by her side until the EMTs got to the location.
The FedEx driver’s swift reaction in the emergency situation meant the difference between Nancy being fine by the time the ambulance arrived and her landing into the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Unfortunately, when she had another serious asthma attack five years ago, there was no FedEx driver to save her and that’s exactly where she ended up – in the hospital fighting for her life. Thankfully, this time, she was in much less danger of serious complications because of Joshua’s quick reaction.
Joshua told WTKR about the incident and when he noticed that the woman was struggling:
“My brother had real bad asthma when we were kids, so I knew what was going on after that.”
But his concern for Nancy didn’t end there. He reportedly left her a note on her door to ask her how she was doing days after her asthma attack.
Awarding good deeds
Because of his life-saving good deed, Joshua was eventually awarded with the News 3 People Taking Action award. He was handed the certificate and a $300 gift card on camera in the same location where he had helped Nancy.
While Joshua was grateful for the recognition, Nancy turned emotional during the interview and gave her hero a hug.
You can see Joshua get his award in the video below:
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