LETTER CARRIER HELPS ELDERLY WOMAN WHO FELL

A letter carrier trying to deliver a parcel on North Cape Rock Drive Friday prompted the rescue of an elderly woman who had been lying on her floor for 16 hours after falling.

Bill Adams, a letter carrier for the past 15 years, had knocked three times on the woman's door trying to deliver the parcel when he thought he heard a yell from inside. "Normally when I go to the door she comes right away," he said.

He knocked again and started talking through the door. They could barely hear each other because of traffic on the street, Adams said. "I hollered, Help is on the way."

He went next door and phoned 911. An ambulance and engines from Cape Girardeau Fire Department Station No. 4 responded and entered the house. They found the woman on her bedroom floor.

The woman told rescuers she had fallen about 9:30 Thursday night and was unable to reach her phone. The rescue occurred just before 1 p.m. Friday.

The woman reportedly has no relatives living in the area. A fire department spokesman said the situation was potentially dangerous for her. "Being elderly, you dehydrate quite quickly," he said.

Adams said this isn't that unusual an experience for a letter carrier, though this is the first time it has happened to him.

Friday night, Adams visited the woman at Southeast Missouri Hospital, where she was to undergo surgery for a broken bone.

It was lucky he needed to deliver a parcel. Ordinarily he would have delivered her mail to her box on the street.

"I was fortunate to be in the right spot," he said.

His supervisor, Matthew Peters, said he will nominate Adams for a Postal Service award called the Individual Incentive Award.