Letter Carrier Michael Rainwater was delivering mail on a freezing December day in Conyers, GA, when he came upon a customer who’d locked herself out of her home a half-hour earlier.
The woman, a 77-year-old cancer survivor, had no winter outerwear on, so Rainwater put his coat on her to help her warm up while he called a locksmith.
The Postal Service employee remained on the scene to comfort the customer until she regained access to her residence.
She subsequently saw a doctor, who diagnosed frostbite on her hands and feet and advised her that another 15 minutes alone outside in those conditions could have proved fatal for her.
“Michael saved her life,” said Conyers Postmaster Micheleen Leggett. “What a heroic act.”