Good news: Observant mail carrier saves senior in Westerleigh

Marie Boyer and U.S. Postal Service worker Lisa Sweeney have become close friends after Sweeney saved Boyer's life. (Staten Island Advance/Thomas Erik Bascome)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A life-threatening experience has brought two Staten Island women closer than they could have ever imagined.

It was a day in August, and Lisa Sweeney, a 51-year-old mail carrier, was driving the same route she's driven for 13 years -- when she noticed something out of the ordinary.

Marie Boyer, an 87-year-old Staten Island native, had not taken in her mail or garbage cans in recent days -- two things that Sweeney knew the senior did on a  regular basis.

"That's when the red flag went up," said Sweeney.

The mail carrier decided to knock on the door, and after receiving no response, went over to speak with the neighbors.

The neighbors told Sweeney that they had just returned from vacation and that they hadn't yet seen or heard from Boyer.

That's when Sweeney realized she had to take action.

"I really felt like she was in there, so I called 911 and explained the situation," recalled Sweeney.

Still needing to deliver the mail to the rest of her route, Sweeney continued on her way, sporadically driving past Boyer's Westerleigh home to see if the cops had arrived.

"I got a call that the cops had gotten to the house, so I went back to see what was going on," Sweeney said.

The NYPD entered the house through the rear door and spent a significant amount of time inside with no indication of what was going on.

"Someone finally came outside and said, 'she's alive,' and I was so happy I cried," recalled Sweeney.

Boyer was removed from her home on a stretcher, barely conscious, suffering from severe dehydration.

She opened her eyes outside to see the caring mail carrier who had saved her life.

"I knew that you would know I was here because the mail was still in the box," Boyer told Sweeney before being placed in the ambulance.

It turned out that Boyer had fallen four days prior, and had been trapped on the floor with no means of calling for help.

"I went upstairs with a pile of things and fell and couldn't get back up," said Boyer.

During that time, Boyer became so severely dehydrated that her lips began to peel and she suffered multiple bruises and sores on her back.

"I remember thinking that I didn't want to die that way. I didn't want to die alone," Boyer recalled during a recent interview.

She has since recovered from her injuries and is living comfortably at The Esplanade Luxury Senior Residences in Graniteville.

And Sweeney and Boyer have become close friends, seeing each other twice weekly.

"It's only been a short span, and it's like we're best friends," said Sweeney.

The two spend their time together talking, watching television and eating ice cream from Eggers.

The new friends will even be spending Thanksgiving together, as Sweeney has invited Boyer to join her family for the holiday.

  • (If you have a Good News story to share, send an email to goodnews@siadvance.com with "Good News" in the subject field, or send a letter to the Good News Editor at the Staten Island Advance, 950 Fingerboard Rd., S.I., N.Y. 10305.)

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