Mike Yoksh considers the day last summer that he borrowed his wife’s car a lucky day.
Twice every week, the 76-year-old retiree makes Meals on Wheels deliveries to about 18 seniors. It takes Mike about 4 hours to complete the 40-mile round trip. He’s been doing it for 6 or 7 years and has developed a warm friendship with many of the people on his route.
“I try to visit with each person for about 10 minutes,” he says. “I know I’m often the only person they’ll see that day and they are usually pretty eager to talk about anything — family, the weather, their aches and pains. I enjoy the conversation, too, and it gives me a chance to check on them to make sure they’re OK.”
That particular day, Mike was driving his wife’s Buick Lucerne equipped with OnStar
Mike hurried back to the Lucerne and pushed the red Emergency button. He explained the situation to the Advisor, who immediately called 911 and gave Mike’s location to first responders.
“I don’t carry a cell phone with me,” says Mike. “But I knew I could get help from OnStar.”
Thankfully, the man was not seriously ill and was able to thank Mike for calling for help when he made his next meal delivery to him.
That wasn’t the first time Mike has pushed the red Emergency button to help someone on his meal delivery route.
“It’s happened a couple times before,” he says. “Sometimes people will leave their door unlocked when they know I’m coming because it’s hard for them to get up to answer the door. In those instances when I’ve found someone who has needed help, I call 911 from their house. But when the door is locked, OnStar has been the hero.”
Mike says he should really start borrowing his wife’s car more often, just for that reason.
“It’s always a good feeling to have a dependable resource handy when someone needs your help,” he says.
