Dialing a wrong number isn’t usually a big deal, but for one woman in Ohio, it may very well have been. In fact, the call is probably the reason she’s still alive and well.

Loretta Smith, 70, of Cuyahoga Falls was in her bedroom last week when the entire right side of her body went numb, causing her to fall into her dresser and knock her phone onto the floor. She fumbled to call her son but wound up missing one digit during the commotion and instead called 28-year-old Kenny Crater, a student living near Denver, CO.

When Smith told him she was having a stroke, he got her address and then contacted his closest police department, which transferred him to Cuyahoga Falls police. After Crater relayed the story to them, they dispatched paramedics to Smith’s house, who transported her to a local hospital for treatment.

She’s home now but credits Crater for saving her life. Doctors told her getting to the hospital so quickly was crucial as a few hours more could have caused irreparable damage.

Crater, though, dismisses the “hero” label. “All I did was answer a phone and made a phone call,” he said. “I kind of think it’s silly that the world is that hard up for heroes… She was the one who was having a stroke and still gave me all of her information. She was the one who survived the stroke.”

But Smith insists Crater’s kindness saved her, saying, “He’s like my guardian angel… he’s my hero.”

More From Newstalk 1290