Dan Magennis is on the road to recovery — and he has a quick-thinking representative from his cable company to thank for helping him take the first steps.Kimberly Williams, a Comcast customer service rep in Jackson, Mississippi, stepped up to contact emergency services after speaking on the phone with Magennis, whose sudden change in verbal demeanor raised a red flag for Williams.“The only thing I was able to get was his name, and then his words got slurred right away,” Williams, 32, toldABC 13 On Your Sideof her August 13 call with Magennis, 65. “Then I heard the phone drop.”“It all happened so fast,” Magennis added. “[Everything was fine] until I went to talk. And at that point in time, all of a sudden, I could not. … I didn’t have any strength in my arm, my right foot didn’t work and I couldn’t make a sound.”Williams immediately began attempting to contact authorities local to Magennis in Walker, Michigan, she said in an interview withUSAToday— and when her first try didn’t work, she kept at it.“They told me he was in a rural area and they said they had their own rescue department,” she told the outlet.WZZM 13Kimberly WilliamsBoth Williams and her supervisor, Jennifer Clark, first called 911. Then, they got in touch with the Grand Rapids Fire Department. The latter action eventually led first responders to Magennis’ home, where they found him on his garage floor, according toUSA Today.Williams told the outlet that she “followed [her] first mind” in her actions, after having witnessed her own grandmother suffer a stroke when she was a teenager: “When she came to my room and tried to talk to me was the same way he spoke to me last Tuesday.”And her instinct was correct. Magennishad suffered a stroke andunderwent an artery-unclogging surgery after being transported to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.“Had this person not intervened and just hung up the phone, I think [Magennis] likely would’ve had a very large left-sided stroke that would’ve left him with a significant disability,” neurosurgeon Justin Singer told ABC 13 On Your Side. “Under certain circumstances, someone couldeven die from a very large stroke.”RELATED VIDEO: Indiana Father, 49, Tackles Stroke-Like Illness Through Painting: “I’ve Been Given a Gift”“He has almost no discernible signs of having a stroke [now], and that’s what we want to see,” Singer added of the patient’s recovery.In her conversation withUSA Today, Williams said she “really did the right thing and saved someone’s life,” something she didn’t learn about until she came back into work two days later, adding, “It still feels like a dream to me. But I am glad that I followed my first mind.”“Each day, our Customer Experience Associates in Jackson, Mississippi, and across the nation go above and beyond the call of duty to take care of our customers. In this case, Ms. Kimberly Williams took the extra steps to help save a customer’s life,” Alex Horwitz, a vice president of public relations for Comcast, tells PEOPLE in a statement. “We are incredibly proud of her quick thinking and dedication.”As for Magennis, without Williams’ help, “I’m not sure where I’d be today,” he toldABC 13 On Your Side. “I don’t think I’d be right here, very honestly.”
Dan Magennis is on the road to recovery — and he has a quick-thinking representative from his cable company to thank for helping him take the first steps.
Kimberly Williams, a Comcast customer service rep in Jackson, Mississippi, stepped up to contact emergency services after speaking on the phone with Magennis, whose sudden change in verbal demeanor raised a red flag for Williams.
“The only thing I was able to get was his name, and then his words got slurred right away,” Williams, 32, toldABC 13 On Your Sideof her August 13 call with Magennis, 65. “Then I heard the phone drop.”
“It all happened so fast,” Magennis added. “[Everything was fine] until I went to talk. And at that point in time, all of a sudden, I could not. … I didn’t have any strength in my arm, my right foot didn’t work and I couldn’t make a sound.”
Williams immediately began attempting to contact authorities local to Magennis in Walker, Michigan, she said in an interview withUSAToday— and when her first try didn’t work, she kept at it.
“They told me he was in a rural area and they said they had their own rescue department,” she told the outlet.
WZZM 13
Kimberly Williams
Both Williams and her supervisor, Jennifer Clark, first called 911. Then, they got in touch with the Grand Rapids Fire Department. The latter action eventually led first responders to Magennis’ home, where they found him on his garage floor, according toUSA Today.
Williams told the outlet that she “followed [her] first mind” in her actions, after having witnessed her own grandmother suffer a stroke when she was a teenager: “When she came to my room and tried to talk to me was the same way he spoke to me last Tuesday.”
And her instinct was correct. Magennishad suffered a stroke andunderwent an artery-unclogging surgery after being transported to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“Had this person not intervened and just hung up the phone, I think [Magennis] likely would’ve had a very large left-sided stroke that would’ve left him with a significant disability,” neurosurgeon Justin Singer told ABC 13 On Your Side. “Under certain circumstances, someone couldeven die from a very large stroke.”
RELATED VIDEO: Indiana Father, 49, Tackles Stroke-Like Illness Through Painting: “I’ve Been Given a Gift”
“He has almost no discernible signs of having a stroke [now], and that’s what we want to see,” Singer added of the patient’s recovery.
In her conversation withUSA Today, Williams said she “really did the right thing and saved someone’s life,” something she didn’t learn about until she came back into work two days later, adding, “It still feels like a dream to me. But I am glad that I followed my first mind.”
“Each day, our Customer Experience Associates in Jackson, Mississippi, and across the nation go above and beyond the call of duty to take care of our customers. In this case, Ms. Kimberly Williams took the extra steps to help save a customer’s life,” Alex Horwitz, a vice president of public relations for Comcast, tells PEOPLE in a statement. “We are incredibly proud of her quick thinking and dedication.”
As for Magennis, without Williams’ help, “I’m not sure where I’d be today,” he toldABC 13 On Your Side. “I don’t think I’d be right here, very honestly.”
source: people.com
