In late 2020, a customer was shopping alone in our Mansfield, Ohio store when he lost consciousness and went into cardiac arrest, according to a letter written by his grandson.
At the time, the grandson wrote, he did not know his grandfather had taken ill, but after learning of the event, he knew he wanted to thank those involved. A few days later, when he and his wife made their regular shopping trip, he made sure to stop by the service desk to find the manager and pass along his gratitude. What he didn’t expect is for the team member at the service desk to become emotional.
“She automatically started tearing up and asked how [my grandfather] was doing,” he said. “She said they don’t usually find out what happens to people who have medical emergencies. They all seemed genuinely concerned about his well-being and how things turned out.”
The grandson soon learned several team members quickly rushed to his grandfather’s aid that day – paging for help, administering CPR, and using the in-store automated external defibrillator.
“We were later told by the doctors at the hospital that if it were not for the response by Meijer employees and others at the store, my grandfather may not have lived,” he said.
The team members he spoke with all said they were so thankful he stopped back in to let them know his grandfather was okay.
“From what I have gathered, those who helped attend to my grandfather, helped save his life,” he said.
He also shared that his grandfather is doing great and taking it in stride. He says his grandfather told him, “It wasn’t my time to go yet.”
We are so proud of our brave team members – Latasha Williams, Michaela Jenkins, Krystle Fenton, Chad Barnhart, Rachel Risner, Jessica Miller, Heather Donohue, and Ken Varda – whose cool heads in a crisis, made a world of difference for our customer.
Editor’s note: The family members mentioned in this story preferred to keep their names private but asked that we still share the story in recognition of our incredible team members.