A 9-1-1 operator responded to a call from a famished old man, but he passed out before he could finish his sentence. When cops arrived at his home, they discovered him unconscious and trapped in the basement. 89-year-old Albert was a grumpy old man; all his neighbors knew that. But it wasn’t entirely Albert’s fault. As we get older, we want to be surrounded by our loved ones, our children, and grandchildren.
But Albert didn’t have anyone he could share his worries with. His wife had passed away years ago due to cardiac arrest, and his sons barely checked on him after they settled in different parts of town with their families. Albert had so much in his heart, but he couldn’t say it aloud. He was crumbling within from loneliness, which is why he was so cranky, but nobody understood him. “He’s lost his mind, stay away from him.
I’ve never seen his family visit. He’s a lunatic.” That’s why his family pushed him away. These were just a few of the many things Albert’s neighbors gossiped about behind his back. It pained him that people thought so lowly of him without even knowing his side of the story.
Sometimes he would spend hours and hours talking to his late wife, crying and silently praying to God to call him to the Heavenly Home. Other times he’d blame God for forcing him to live a lonely and miserable life. One day, Albert was really missing his wife.
He went down to the basement to retrieve some of her things, but when he tried to open the door to leave, it was jammed. He gripped the knob and tried to open the door with all his might, but the knob broke, falling to the floor, and Albert was locked inside.
“Oh dear, how am I gonna leave now?” he began to panic. He was trapped in the basement with no other way out. There was a small ventilation window close to the ceiling, and he tried to shout for help, but it was no use. Nobody would rush to his aid.
All his neighbors despised him, though he’d never been mean to anyone. Albert’s body was trembling with fear. “How do I get out, Lord? What do I do?” Albert reached into his pocket and found his cell phone.
He sighed, relieved that he had his phone. He dialed 9-1-1, but the call didn’t go through because there was no coverage. He walked around the basement, hoping to get a signal, but it was no use. Old Albert burst into tears and had never felt so helpless. “Excuse me, can anyone hear me?
Please help me, I’m stuck!” he screamed as loudly as he could, but nobody came to help, and he never got a signal. Three days passed. Albert was weak, starved, and dehydrated. His body was on the verge of giving away, and he gave up.
“I’m coming, honey,” he whispered to his wife, teary-eyed. “Maybe this is how it happens. This is how I finally get to see you.” But Albert was wrong. His phone suddenly beeped, and he saw the signal return.
With trembling hands, he quickly dialed 9-1-1, informing the operator that he’d been locked in a dark and dingy basement for 72 hours with no food or water. “Help me, I’m trapped, please. I’m hungry,” he cried. “We have your location. SWAT units are on the way.
Could you please tell us more about the nature of your problem?” “Hello, sir, can you hear me?” Before Albert could finish his sentence, he passed out on the call, and the phone went dead. The battery died. Thankfully, the unit closest to his address was manned by Officer Wooten and his partner, Officer Davis, who responded quickly.
The police opened the door. “Officer Wooten called out, but there was no answer. The house is deserted,” said Officer Davis. “Locals said he lived alone, an old man, 89.” In the end, the two officers decided to break open the door, but they didn’t find Albert anywhere in the house.
That’s when they decided to check the basement and found him unconscious. “Geez, call the medics. He’s alive,” said Officer Davis, checking Albert’s pulse. After a couple of minutes, Albert was rushed to the hospital, and thankfully, they were able to revive him. When he opened his eyes, he saw the two officers and his sons, whom the officers had called after discovering their phone numbers in his phone, by his bedside.
“Dad, you all right?” his elder son asked. “We’re so sorry. We got busy with our lives, and we forgot to check on you.” “Yeah, Dad,” his younger said.
“We realized we were wrong.” “You boys better buckle up,” Officer Wooten warned them. “Your father needs someone to take care of him. Don’t make the mistake I did when I initially joined the force. My father was your father’s age.
This job’s insane. You never know what’ll happen. It was my dad’s birthday, but I couldn’t be there since I was investigating a case, and he died that night of a heart attack. I still have regrets about that thing. Perhaps I should have urged my partner to take over the case for a day and spend more time with my father.
Please don’t do this to him. He deserves better,” Officer Wooten added before leaving with his partner. Albert’s sons recognized they were wrong to isolate him, so they hired a full-time nurse, and they visit him frequently now to check on him. Officer Wooten also occasionally stops by Albert’s house to check on him too. After all, he knows how elderly parents feel when they get lonely.
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