What is the first thing you think of when you picture a firefighter in your mind? Like many people, you probably think about somebody rushing into a burning building and saving a life. Although that may be true, there is so much more that is associated with those first responders. As you are about to see, they are heroes on multiple levels and they can touch a person’s life in ways that they never even thought possible.
This happened on a very hot day in July in Bayonette Point, Florida. A man by the name of Gene Work was working outside with his brother. They were laying down sod in the yard because the homeowners association was threatening to fine Gene if he didn’t replace the sod. He only had a limited amount of time to do so. He ended up hawking his favorite gun to purchase the sod and now he was working tirelessly to get it on the ground.
As he worked, he felt a sharp pain in his chest that went down his arm. As it turns out, his coronary artery was blocked and he was in the middle of a massive heart attack. His wife, Melissa Work recognized the symptoms and dialed 911.
Firefighters and EMS workers showed up on the site and they were working on him as quickly as they could. The entire time that he was dealing with this, he continued to ask his wife about the sod. He felt a lot of pain but all he could think of was the fine and how they would pay for it.
“While he was having his heart attack, literally in and out of consciousness, he kept begging me to figure out the sod and have it put down because he didn’t want it to go to waste and die. It’s ALL he kept asking about literally during a massive heart attack… I calmed him and kept saying ‘Jesus will help us. It’s ok. Jesus will figure this out babe.’”
He was transported to the hospital by the paramedics and he had surgery to install a stent. If they had waited just a few minutes longer, he wouldn’t have made it.
Melissa was shocked at what her young husband had just gone through. Her brother-in-law stayed to watch the children and to work on the lawn. He wasn’t expecting what happened next. The firefighters and EMT workers returned to the driveway.
As his brother watched, the firefighters jumped out of the truck, put on their gloves and started putting down the new sod.
“Before he knows it, 7 firefighters and EMT’s jumped out, put on gloves and said they came back because they knew Gene was in serious trouble and they wanted to lay the new sod so it didn’t die. They knew he wouldn’t be able to do any work for weeks so they came back.”
His wife was very thankful for what they did and shared these pictures on Facebook. They saved her husband’s life and then returned to lift the burden that was such a big problem for them.
“They came back!!! They saved his life, dropped him off and then cared enough to save our GRASS!!”
As it turns out, Melissa also has health problems and has to go through a bone marrow transplant soon. They have been struggling with problems on different fronts and the kindness of the firefighters touched them very deeply.
When these pictures were shared on Melissa’s Facebook page, they went viral. After her husband was released from the hospital, they traveled to thank the heroes in person.
Heroes don’t always wear a cape. Sometimes, they live in our community and drive a big red truck.