A knock at the door can be easy to miss. For one Fort Worth woman, it was the difference between life and death.
Alekzander Dzivak, 19, was making a routine Meals on Wheels delivery when he arrived at the home of an elderly woman he knows as Ms. Lana. Inside, she was having a diabetic episode.
Ms. Lana had collapsed in her kitchen and could not move. Her phone was beside her, and when her doorbell camera app alerted her that Dzivak had arrived, she got a chance to call out for help.
She later said her mind was foggy and she had not even thought to call 911.
Through the doorbell, she told Dzivak what was happening.
“She was giving me the code and saying she was gonna die, and please call 911,” Dzivak recalled to FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth.
He called emergency services and stayed with her through the doorbell camera while help was on the way.
“I was nodding and shaking my head. I was trying to keep her talking to me, keep her calm,” he said. “It was a very scary situation.”
Less than five minutes later, first responders arrived and stabilized Ms. Lana.
For her, the timing was everything.
“If he hadn’t come, I would’ve died. It was that far along,” she said. “He came to the door at the right moment. It’s just unbelievable.”
She said she was terrified after realising she was alone and could not reach anyone.
“I was petrified because I’ve never been that bad before. I knew I was by myself… There just wasn’t any way I could get hold of anybody.”
Dzivak had just turned 19 weeks earlier. He is one of the youngest volunteers serving Meals on Wheels in Tarrant County and handles two delivery routes each week.
On this delivery, though, the work quickly became something else.
“I was very happy I arrived when I did, because I don’t know what would’ve happened had I shown up later,” he said. “So I’m just glad I was here, and the paramedics were as close as they were.”
The incident left a lasting impact on both of them, according to the account, and created a bond that went beyond a meal delivery.
For Dzivak, it also reinforced why he volunteers.
“Any impact you’re able to make is amazing,” he said. “I find it so rewarding to volunteer.”
What began as one of his usual rounds ended with emergency crews at the house and Ms. Lana still alive because she was able to reach the person at her door.
Dzivak did not have to force the moment into something heroic. He answered the call he heard, phoned 911 and kept talking to her while she waited for help.
Ms. Lana said she had never been in that condition before. Alone in her home and unable to move, she said she could not get hold of anybody until the doorbell camera alert showed Dzivak had arrived.
That alert gave her one chance to speak. Dzivak listened.
“She was giving me the code and saying she was gonna die, and please call 911,” Dzivak recalled.
Minutes later, first responders reached her and stabilized her in less than five minutes.
“If he hadn’t come, I would’ve died. It was that far along,” she said.
