John Allen of McDonough said the recent actions of a longtime friend were instrumental in saving his life.

“I’m just grateful to have a friend like him,” said Allen, 69. “I just felt like he deserves some kind of recognition for what he did.”

Allen’s ordeal unfolded when he got sick on June 4. He said on that day, he ate lunch and fell asleep a short time later.
“I woke up about 10 p.m., that night,” said Allen. “When I got up, I couldn’t keep anything on my stomach. I kept throwing up.”

Jimmy Hanson, 72, worked with Allen for more than 40 years at Southeastern Freight Lines in Conley — Allen as a lead man on the dock and Hanson as a driver. Hanson also lives about a mile and a half from Allen’s home on Kelleytown Road.

Hanson said he had known Allen was sick, and left soup at his front door, hoping it would help his friend feel better.
“I knew when he was having a good day or a bad day,” said Hanson.

Hanson said when he returned to Allen’s home the next morning to check on him, he saw the soup still sitting at the door.
“I couldn’t get him to the door,” said Hanson, who then found a spare key nearby and entered Allen’s home.

“I phoned 911, and when I went in, I found John,” said Hanson. “He was in bed, breathing hard. I was talking to him, and he wouldn’t wake up.”

Hanson said seeing Allen struggling for breath made him think about his younger brother Charles, who passed away 10 months ago from COVID-19.

“I said, ‘Johnny’ really loud, and he barely opened his eyes,” continued Hanson. “I told him help was on the way and kept him talking. The fire department got there and put an IV in.”

Allen was taken by ambulance to Piedmont Henry Hospital, said Allen, who is diabetic. He said although his blood sugar has been high a few times in his life, his condition on that day still took him by surprise.

“My blood sugar was almost 1100,” he said. “The doctor told me that if my heart wasn’t as strong as it was, I would’ve died.”

Allen said he is grateful for Hanson’s actions on his behalf. Those actions, he said, were not limited to calling 911.
“While I was in the hospital, Jimmy cut my grass, got my mail and took care of my house,” said Allen.

Allen was released from the hospital on June 15. He said he is getting better following his health scare and said he has Hanson to thank for it.

“I know he saved my life,” said Allen. “I’m recovering. I’m at my son’s house, and he’s been taking care of me. I’m getting stronger. I was really weak when I came here.”

Hanson acknowledged that he has no medical training, and that he didn’t know what he was walking into when he found Allen sick in his bed. Nonetheless, he is glad he was able to help Allen. “It was a bad feeling to walk in there, not knowing what I was going to find,” said Hanson. “I’m so happy I did. If I hadn’t went in, it could have been bad later. I did for him what I would want people to do for me. I believe we all need to be human beings sometimes.”

Hanson said Allen’s story serves as a reminder to show compassion toward others in need.

“I’m just a normal human being,” said Hanson. “Everybody needs to try to help somebody else. That’s the way I feel about life. We need to care more.”