A neighbor’s kindness, persistence save a life
FISHERS, Ind. – If she hadn’t needed bread and milk, Jo Trimble, 89, might be dead.
Trimble lives alone in the Parks at White River neighborhood. In her corner of the 300-home subdivision, she is mostly surrounded by empty nesters and senior citizens.
In neighborhoods such as Trimble’s, filled with higher risk populations such as the elderly, the threat of infection hangs over every interaction as coronavirus spreads. Some, including Trimble’s neighbor Amy McDonald, try to care for the elderly in their communities in small ways.
McDonald, 60, is a full-time pet sitter. She has more free time these days, as clients work from home during the pandemic, free to walk dogs themselves without the help of Amy’s Critter Care.
Tuesday, McDonald ventured out to collect grocery orders from elderly neighbors. Her third stop was Trimble’s front door.
The two women knew each other in passing, through front yard waves and occasional swapped pleasantries. McDonald
knew Trimble lived alone and wanted to check on her. When Trimble opened the door, she told McDonald to stay back: She had a stomach virus and didn’t feel well.
McDonald could have turned away right there, but she convinced Trimble to give her a grocery list. Orders in hand, she went to two different Kroger stores to collect what her neighbors needed. Panicked pandemic shopping has led to some items selling out as vital grocery store aisles are stripped bare.
When McDonald returned with the groceries, Trimble looked more pale than before.
“I feel horrible,” she said. McDonald could have set down the groceries and backed away, but she carried the groceries to the kitchen while Trimble laid down on a sofa.
McDonald was going to leave, but something in her couldn’t. She texted a neighbor, a retired nurse, for advice.
When Trimble’s daughter Kelly called to check in on her sick mother, Trimble handed McDonald the phone. McDonald told Kelly to hurry down. “I’m not going to leave your mother,” she said.
A little while after the phone call,
Trimble vomited yellow bile and complained of chest pains. She mumbled to McDonald: I need help. McDonald called 911. Coronavirus has changed how first responders must react: After hearing about a sick 89-year-old woman, the dispatcher asked if she had a fever and said to not let anyone except for paramedics inside the house.
As the women waited for the ambulance, Trimble, who was in her pajamas and robe, worried that she wasn’t properly dressed for the hospital. McDonald told her it didn’t really matter.
When paramedics arrived, they wore masks and talked to McDonald from a distance.
Trimble was having a heart attack. The symptoms in women can be subtle, manifesting as uncomfortable pressure or shortness of breath. Her left anterior descending artery was completely blocked, a type of heart attack so lethal it is called a widowmaker.
Surgery at Community Hospital North saved Trimble’s life. She was isolated in the hospital, only able to talk to her family over the phone. She told Kelly she’s getting good care, but she’s scared.
Trimble’s family thanked McDonald over speakerphone.
“I saw three clear distinct times where Amy had contact with my mother where she could’ve easily walked away,” Kelly said. “Amy persisted.”
McDonald said she was just in the right place at the right time. If not for the pandemic, she never would have been there.