A florist’s life is transformed when a woman saves him from heat stroke, and from then on he vows to give a little joy to the women who pass by his shop. Joanna Gallows was driving down the road when she noticed a jogger stagger along the side of the road. Then the man stopped and Joanna saw his legs fold, and he fell down.
Joanna stopped immediately and ran to his side. The man was panting, his face was bright red, but his skin was bone dry. She was sure he had a heat stroke. His life could be in danger! Joanna ran back to her car and came back with two-liter bottles of water. She wet a handkerchief and placed it on the man’s forehead and soaked his sweatshirt with the cold water.
Good deeds and kindness should be passed on to those that need them. Then she dialed 911 and called for an ambulance. While she waited for the paramedics, Joanna kept fanning the man and cooling his forehead and his body as best she could. The ambulance arrived and Joanna stepped back with relief as the paramedic arrived and took over.
She got back into her car and drove away on her way out of town. Her part in this story ends here, but her act of solidarity was to affect many lives. When the man Joanna had saved woke up in the hospital, he was dazed. Hank Lewis woke up shivering with cold from the cold packs in his armpits and his groin and with an IV needle in his arm.
The hospital staff told him he owed his life to a stranger who’d managed to prevent brain damage by lowering his temperature. Without that woman’s help, they said, he might never have woken up again. Hank asked who the stranger was, but the paramedics had been too busy caring for him to ask Joanna for her name and address. All that they could tell him was that it was a woman.
Hank placed ads online, told his story on Instagram, and asked the woman to come forward, but no one did. “If only I knew who she was,” he complained to his wife. “I could send her a bouquet of flowers from the shop!” (Hank was the owner of a successful flower shop.)”Well,” his wife said. “You never know! She might walk down the street every day and right past our shop!””That’s right!” Hank gasped.
“She could be anyone!” The next day, Hank prepared a beautiful bouquet of red roses and walked out of the shop. He stood and watched the people going by, then he approached a worried-looking young woman. “Excuse me,” he said. “These are for you, as thanks for all the wonderful things you do to make life better for those around you.”
The woman flushed and stammered before accepting the flowers. Her tired face lit up with a lovely smile. “Thank you very much!” she exclaimed. “Oh, thank you very much!” The next day, Hank chose a bunch of sunny yellow tulips still glistening with dew and presented them to a depressed elderly lady. “I want you to know you’re loved,” he continued. The woman accepted the tulips with shaking hands and teary eyes.
“Oh,” she said quietly. “I haven’t received flowers in almost thirty years!” Hank told his wife about his activities and how the women reacted. “You know, Hank, I think what you’re doing is what that woman did for you,” she remarked thoughtfully. She may have kept your body alive, but you are providing first aid to these women’s souls!
I assume that for many women out there, life is a never-ending drudgery devoid of passion and beauty. “They must feel as if they are noticed for the first time in years, if not their entire life when you offer them the flowers!” “I enjoy doing it,” Hank admitted. “Seeing those grins makes me so happy. But I’m having so much fun with it that I’m beginning to think it’s a little selfish!”
“No, Hank!” exclaimed his wife. “You’re passing on the gift you received: a new lease on life!” So, in honor of his mysterious savior, Hank has been giving away a bouquet of his best flowers every day since then to women who appear to need a reminder that life is worth living. He always chooses the most gorgeous flowers in the shop, whether it’s red roses, yellow tulips, or purple orchids.
So don’t be startled if a short man with a bit of a paunch and a cheerful smile brings you flowers one of these days. It may be Hank, and he undoubtedly thinks you should remember how gorgeous, great, and treasure you are. To accept the flowers with a grin. That is his greatest reward and the highlight of his day.