Reading Eagle carrier's actions credited with saving reader's life

Dec. 22—Something inside Lee Heckrote told him something was wrong, that something bad had happened.

The 41-year-old from Sinking Spring has been delivering newspapers for the Reading Eagle for the last 18 years. And for the past 12 years he has manned a route that winds through Wyomissing.

One of his stops on that route is the home of Dona Mazurkiewicz.

After delivering to her for over a decade, Heckrote had gotten to know Dona a little bit. He knew that the woman, who is 84 years old, has lived alone for the past several years.

And he knew that she was an avid reader of the newspaper, seldom missing a day. She would even collect the rubber bands that keep the papers rolled up and return them to Heckrote so he didn't have to buy new ones.

"I've been delivering to her every day, and she almost always picks up the paper," he said.

So what Heckrote saw on Dec. 6 struck him as quite strange. As he dropped off Wednesday's edition of the paper on Dona's driveway, he noticed the one he had delivered Tuesday was still there.

The next morning, the newspapers were still sitting on the macadam. And the story was the same that Friday morning.

Heckrote also noticed that Dona's mail appeared to be piling up in her mailbox, that a package that had been delivered was still sitting outside and that it appeared a television set was on upstairs — odd given that it was about 4 a.m.

Heckrote said he had never known Dona to travel, that she wasn't the kind of person to be away from home for days at a time.

The whole situation simply felt wrong. Heckrote felt he needed to do something about it.

"On Friday, the papers were still piled up on the driveway so I decided I should say something," he said. "I had noticed a police officer was sitting across from the Rite Aid that I deliver to, so I went to him and told him what I thought. He followed me to the house and then I continued on my route."

Actions commended

Those actions probably saved Dona's life.

"Without a doubt, he saved her life," said her son Mark Mazurkiewicz, his voice cracking with emotion. "It's just remarkable that he took the time to do something when most people don't do anything."

When Wyomissing police Sgt. Sean Engleman arrived at her house, he immediately suspected something was amiss. He saw the pile of newspapers and mail and noticed that an air conditioner was running.

He decided he needed to get inside and contacted the fire department to help him gain access.

"We found the resident laying at the top of the steps on the second floor," Engleman said. "It appeared that she had been there for a couple of days. She was awake, she was alert, but you could tell she could not get up under her own power."

Engleman commended Heckrote for jumping into action when he felt someone was in need of help.

"He's very observant," he said. "And he took the time out of his schedule to come tell me he thought there was an issue. He most likely saved her life."

It's still unclear exactly what happened to Dona. Mark said tests performed at Reading Hospital show that she didn't suffer a stroke or a seizure.

"She doesn't remember anything that happened," Mark said. "She doesn't have any bruises or any bumps on her head that would indicate that she fell. So it's a mystery at this point."

Mark said his mother is already improving. She was released from Reading Hospital on Dec. 18, headed for a brief stint at a rehabilitation center.

Living in Florida, Mark said he appreciates that someone was looking out for his mom when he was too far away to do so himself.

He said he had started worrying about his mom a few days before police discovered her on the floor of her home. He had called her that Monday and said that she had been in good spirits.

He tried calling again Wednesday and Thursday, but she didn't answer. She didn't call back, either, but Mark said that wasn't particularly out of the ordinary.

"I thought it's a little weird, but I thought maybe she got tied up or was running errands," he said. "I thought I would give it until Friday morning and if I still couldn't get in touch with her I was going to call Wyomissing Borough Hall to see if they could check in on her. But Friday morning is when I got the call."

The first call he received, coming in around 4:30 a.m., was from the security company that watches over his mother's house. About 10 minutes later Engleman called, telling Mark that emergency personnel had gotten into his mother's house and were tending to her.

Dona was responsive, but not exactly completely cooperative. Her son says she's "100% German and 100% stubborn."

"I heard her in the background telling the EMTs that she didn't want to go to the hospital," Mark said with a chuckle.

Mark said he has power of attorney for his mother and insisted she be taken to the hospital.

The entire incident with his mother has left Mark feeling grateful, feeling that Heckrote's actions were somewhat of an early Christmas gift for his family.

"I'm kind of a geek, I watch the Hallmark Channel because it's nice to see people do nice things," he said. "And in today's world things like that don't happen. So I was energized to know that there are still people out there who care enough to take that next step and get involved."

Heckrote said he was glad he could be of help, but admitted he also feels a tinge of regret about not acting more quickly.

"I have mixed feelings about it," he said. "I'm glad she's going to be OK, I just wish that I had contacted someone sooner."