HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KWCH) – The Hutchinson community recognizes a mail carrier for her potentially life-saving action, helping a woman who’d fallen in her home at a senior apartment building and was stuck on the ground for three days.
Misty Hernandez was on her mail route Thursday at the Sentney Lofts when she heard a yell for help from inside one of the apartments. Hernandez was able to get to the woman in distress and get her emergency help.
12 News has been speaking with Hernandez about what happened but couldn’t interview her on camera due to post office policy. What turned out to be a feel-good Good Samaritan story could’ve been tragic had the mail carrier not been paying attention.
The woman’s ordeal of being stuck on the ground for days is a recent example of how dangerous a fall can be, especially for seniors when they’re alone, a nurse who spoke with 12 News emphasized.
“Yeah, actually, it happens more than what you would think. If these older folks don’t have someone to check on them regularly or a home health person coming in, or the most important thing, if they don’t have a Life Alert, then how’s anybody gonna know?” said Tawny Sallee, who previously worked as a nurse in the Sentney Lofts and praised Hernandez for her quick action.
Sallee said that when it comes to safety issues like falls among seniors, preparation is critical.
