Deputy saves the life of a Coffee County man

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Deputy saves the life of a Coffee County man

Carole Brand/cbrand@eprisenow.com 
Enterprise Ledger
March 19, 2008

Coffee County Sheriff Dave Sutton and Chief Deputy Ronnie Whitworth recognized Deputy Austin Redman this week for his efforts in what they believe saved a man’s life.

Redman responding to a call from a doctor’s office on Monday, March 10, stating that a man had not shown up for his appointment with dialysis and this was highly unusual for him.
“Our dispatch received a call at approximately 9 a.m. on Monday, that a man, who lived on County Road 223, was scheduled to report for dialysis, but he hadn’t shown up,” Whitworth said. “They said since this was unusual, they were concerned about him.”

Redman was dispatched to the man’s residence and found the front door was unlocked, Redman said he saw the man lying on the floor next to the door. He had apparently collapsed and was unconscious for a number of hours. The man was a double amputee and had fallen out of his wheelchair on Sunday morning, 24 hours before anyone had found him.

“When I got to him, he was conscious, but he said he had been laying there since Sunday morning and must have passed out fell. He couldn’t get to a phone, so he was stuck there until somebody would have found him,” Redman said.

Whitworth said a quick response from doctor’s office personnel and Deputy Redman made this unfortunate situation end with a positive outcome.

“He was transported to a Dothan hospital and we understand that he is fine and continuing his treatments,” he said. “This man didn’t have any family members here to check on him and he couldn’t get to a phone. This can happen with any elderly or disabled person.”

Redman said he was glad he could help the man he found.
“I was proud I got there when I did,” he said. “That’s why it is so important that family, friends or neighbors check on elderly citizens with a visit or phone call just to make sure they are all right. We often get calls when people aren’t checked on for several days and no one knows what happened to them. Most of these situations end badly. That’s why it is so important.”

Sutton said that the public doesn’t know what all is involved with being a deputy.

“Most of the time the public hears about arrests and the bad things with the sheriff’s department,” he noted. “This is a good story with a happy ending and we’re proud of all of our deputies who face these situations very often.”

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