Postal worker and now local hero Kayla Berridge saved a resident’s life thanks to her due diligence and genuine concern for her recipients.
Berridge delivers mail in Newmarket, New Hampshire, roughly 40 miles from Concord. Newmarket is a fairly small town with a population of over 5,000 residents. So, for the postal worker, it’s easy to build a relationship with the people behind the mailboxes.
That’s why on January 27, when Berridge noticed one neighbor’s mail began to pile up, she decided to call emergency officials just to be safe. The resident was a woman in her 80s who frequently would chat with the kind postal worker.
“I hadn’t seen her in a while and I noticed her mail wasn’t getting picked up, so I got a little concerned,” Berridge told CNN on Friday.
And thank goodness she did. Once officials arrived at the Newmarket home, they found that the woman had become trapped on her bedroom floor under a variety of fallen items. She had been there for at least three days, according to the town’s police department. Lt. Wayne Stevens even stated that when the responding detective knocked on the door, they could hear the faint cries of the woman calling for help.
Stevens and another officer, who has paid a visit to the resident in the past, soon arrived on the scene and gained access to the home. They were then able to lift the objects, such as artwork and frames, from off of the woman. Officials suspect that the resident attempted to lean on the bed for support when the items fell on her.
Neighbor Now Safely Recovering Thanks to Postal Worker
After police were able to free the neighbor from the pile, an emergency team transported her to the hospital where she received treatment for hypothermia and dehydration. As of Friday, she was still at the facility. However, according to her family, she is “stable” and “recovering well.”
This was the first time Berridge ever had to call for a wellness check on a resident in her four years as a postal worker, but she has come close in the past. While delivering on her routes, Berridge will frequently check for overflowing mailboxes or even cars that have been in the driveway for a while.
“Newmarket is a great little town,” Berridge explained. “Everyone has each other’s backs.”
Of course, for the Newmarket Police Department, this is far from the first wellness check they’ve conducted. But it was one of the few times that it saved the person’s life.
“Without a doubt, she saved this lady’s life,” Stevens said. “That’s part of being a letter carrier in a small town and taking your job to the next level. She did a great job.”
