Man’s life saved by stranger who thought he was a heavy breathing prankster

59-year-old Ged Hall of Hartlepool, UK is on the mend and doing well thanks to a stranger who saved his life.

As reported by the Hartlepool Mail, last year on the morning of July 12, Ged suffered a brain clot and was drifting in and out of consciousness for a period of 36 hours. “I was unconscious. When I woke up, I was lying on the floor. I tried to get up and I couldn’t. I couldn’t shout or get to the door or anything,” said Ged. During a moment of consciousness, Ged managed to grab a telephone and dial, what he thought was his friend’s number. However, he accidentally called the number of Mary Readman, a perfect stranger.

Mary answered her phone but only heard groans and unintelligible sounds. She thought the heavy breather on the other end of the line was a prankster. Ms. Readman recalled, “I was watching television and it was 9.45 p.m. on the Saturday night when the phone just went. I thought it was a crank call but it was the way [Ged] put the receiver down that got me thinking, ‘Should I call the police?’” According to the Daily Mail, Mary said that it sounded like a land line phone and the caller was having difficulty getting it back on the hook. The perceptive stranger decided to call Ged back and heard more groans and no replies when she asked if the caller was ok.

Readman decided to call the police, and that decision ended up saving Hall’s life. The officers traced the phone number to Ged Hall’s home. They broke down the door and found Ged laying on the ground unconscious. He was then transported to James Cook University Hospital, where he had immediate surgery and eventually three operations over his three-month stay.

Mary told the Hartlepool Mail, “I don’t think I did anything remarkable, but the next thing I knew, the police left a message on my phone saying thank you and that they’d got to the address of the occupant who needed medical attention.”

Since the summer medical scare, Ged is doing much better and continues to improve. Recently he was able to meet his hero in person. “I owe you everything,” Mr. Hall told his rescuer. “I have made amazing progress in the last six months. They say I will get completely better within two years. That is down to you.”

Video and more info: Hartlepool Mail, Daily Mail