A 30-year-old postal worker named Donnie Lance doesn’t want to call himself a hero, but that’s exactly what he is.
What started off like any other day along his route ended up changing his life forever and saving the life of another.
Jean Stewart is an elderly woman who lives along Lance’s route. She is alive because of Lance’s actions.
Donnie Lance saves a life
“I was delivering on 12th Street, which is where Mrs. Jean Stewart lives,” Lance said to Fox 8.
The previous day when he got to Stewart’s home, Lance noticed the screen door to enter her enclosed porch (where her mailbox is located) was locked.
He didn’t think much of it until he noticed it was locked again the following day.
This seemed unusual and concerning to Lance.
Lance became worried
Lance knew it was an elderly woman living in the home and he became concerned for her well-being.
“Knowing that she lives alone and her age and how active she is, I decided to just make sure she is okay.”
What he discovered inside the woman’s home on that hot summer day
Lance walked around to the side of the home to see if there was a way for him to find out if the senior was okay.
That’s when he discovered a side door was open and he could see Stewart lying unconscious on the ground.
“The green door is open and her head is laying on the step that leads into the house. Her legs are out that way and since the door is open, all I can see is her legs,” Lance said.
It was later determined that Stewart had likely been lying there for more than 24 hours.
Stewart underwent surgery for a broken hip
Stewart was unable to speak with the media after.
She had surgery to repair a broken hip and was later placed in a nursing home.
Stewart was a member of the Massillon Baptist Temple near her home.
Pastor Cecil Thayer was very grateful that Lance helped save a member of his congregation that day.
“He was very observant, and then he said that the Lord just led him to go around to the side of the house that day,” the pastor told Fox 8.
Lance doesn’t believe he is a hero
The young postal worker would later tell the media that he doesn’t consider himself a hero for what he did.
“People who jump on grenades and run into burning skyscrapers, that’s a hero. I’m just glad I was able to be used that day.”
He is a hero, though. He’s a hero because he went out of his way to make sure someone was okay.
Had he not done that who knows how long it would have taken for someone else to find Stewart?
Lance is a hero because others in his situation might not have thought to ensure the woman was okay.
A more selfish person may have decided that checking on the woman was none of their business and gone back to focusing on their job.
Not Lance, however, he knows the well-being of others is far more important than getting his route delivered on time.
Learn more about Lance’s heroic actions in the video below!
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