‘Restored my belief in humanity’: Delivery drivers go above and beyond to help save woman’s life
COVINGTON, Ky. —
Two delivery drivers went above and beyond to help save a customer’s life.
When a Kentucky woman had a medical emergency and stopped breathing, they jumped into action.
Shawn Beam and Eric Bunzow work for a service partner of Amazon.
On Aug. 1, they made a delivery to a woman in her 80s in the city of Covington, bringing a heavy package up to her home for her.
Moments later, they said she collapsed after telling them she was feeling dizzy.
“She grabbed me, and her body tensed up, she collapsed and she pulled me to the ground,” said Beam, “And then I noticed she wasn’t breathing.”
That’s when Bunzow says he called 911.
“I have been trained for CPR,” said Beam. “I couldn’t do CPR on her because she was so tiny, and I just pushed in on her stomach two times as hard as I could, and then she gasped for breath and started breathing.”
Thankfully, Covington Fire and EMS were there in minutes.
“We were on the phone with 911 for a total of six minutes, and EMS was there within five,” said Bunzow.
As soon as their shift was over, the two went straight to the hospital to check on the woman. That’s when they met her son, James Laidlaw.
“I think that’s the thing that really floored me the most, not just that they had helped, but that they were concerned enough that after a long shift, these two gentlemen came to the hospital to check up on her and see how she was doing, and that just really hit home with me,” said Laidlaw. “Restored my belief in humanity.”
For Bunzow, the experience struck a chord. He lost his mom in March.
“We bonded because he did lose his mom, but he was in the right place for my mom,” said Laidlaw.
Knowing that she is still here for her son means the world to Bunzow.
“Now, James has some extra time with his mom because he didn’t, he wouldn’t have had that,” he said.
Laidlaw, who is a paramedic, knows firsthand how differently this could have ended.
“I wholeheartedly believe that if both Shawn and Eric had not been there, that we would be planning a funeral,” he said.
Laidlaw said he and his wife were supposed to leave town for an event that day, and that they wouldn’t have been there to check in on his mom.
Luckily, Beam and Bunzow were in the right place at the right time.
“It was a scary experience, but I thank God for using me as a vessel in order to do his work,” said Beam.
Laidlaw says what his mom experienced was an acute medical event that she didn’t know she was at risk of.
He says the issue has now been addressed, she’s now recovering and she can’t wait to meet the two men responsible for saving her.
Laidlaw is working to organize a reunion for all of them so she can thank Beam and Bunzow in person.
