Family celebrates special Thanksgiving dinner with mail carrier who came to father's aid
An Illinois family celebrated a special Thanksgiving dinner this year with a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier who joined them for the holiday.
Guy and Marcia Miller of Aurora, Illinois, welcomed mail carrier Jaylen Lockhart and his family to their home after Miller fell on Nov. 16 while he was out walking his dog Bentley, and Lockhart rushed to his aid.
Lockhart, 26, told "Good Morning America" he had been working as a substitute mail carrier that Saturday afternoon and had not seen or met the Millers before.
"I was on my mail route, looking at my rearview mirror and I saw that Guy was losing his balance. He eventually did fall and took his tumble," Lockhart recalled. "I did a U-turn, and I got to him as quick as I can, just kind of making sure he was OK."
Guy Miller, who has diabetes, said he remembers losing his balance and struggling to get back up before Lockhart caught up to him.
"I had this treat bag in my hand, and it fell out of my hand, and I bent over to pick it up -- and at that same time, the dog lunged forward because he saw a squirrel or something, and I lost my balance," the 75-year-old recalled. "I didn't have time to put my hands out and I kind of conked my head on the grass."
Lockhart said he saw "a lot of blood everywhere" and quickly started alerting neighbors and talking to Miller to try to get more information.
"He gave me his address and I just shot right down to his home. And luckily, his wife answered the door and [I] just told her, 'OK, let's just go get him some help,'" Lockhart said.
Marcia Miller, 67, was home at the time with the Millers' 2-year-old grandson and said she momentarily blanked out when Lockhart arrived and told her her husband had fallen and was bleeding, a moment that was captured on the Millers' Ring doorbell camera.
"When you hear something like that, you're not always thinking," Marcia Miller said. "I couldn't think what to do. 'I can't leave my grandson here. Do I take him in the car with me? What are we going to see?' I was kind of freaking out a little bit."
Lockhart and Marcia Miller eventually managed to guide Guy Miller back home and their daughter Ashley Roberts, a nurse, came over to check on her father.
"Once we got the blood all taken care of, we realized, oh man, there's abrasions, there's scrapes, but there were no deep cuts. And my daughter checked him for a concussion and said, 'You know, I think we're OK here.' So yeah, [we're] very, very, very thankful," Marcia Miller said.
The Millers said they tried to find out who Lockhart was afterward, and after Roberts posted on Facebook, they quickly connected with Lockhart and met with him and his family the following day.
Guy Miller said despite knocking the left side of his head and getting a scrape on his hand, he is now "doing great," adding that no one would be able to tell anything out of the ordinary had happened to him nearly two weeks ago.
"It's kind of a bad thing that this is how I got to know Jaylen, but in a good sense, it's a good thing," he said. "Because I gained another friend."
In addition to becoming new friends, Lockhart and the Millers say they even consider themselves "family" now.
"He took the time to come get family, and so, because of it, we've become family, truly," Marcia Miller said of Lockhart. "So I'm thankful. I'm looking forward on Thanksgiving to getting to know him better … he's an incredibly kind-hearted, humble person."
A few photos of the Millers spending Thanksgiving with Lockhart and his family were shared on the city of Aurora, Illinois', Instagram page.
"We are family now," Lockhart said. "And for that, I will forever be grateful."
Lockhart was also honored by the city of Aurora with the "Jaylen Lockhart Day," for his act of kindness.
"I can tell you for myself and our extended family it has been such a pleasure to watch our story grow," Lockhart said.
"We have connected with so many old friends through this and have made so many new ones. It has put a smile on our faces and lots of joy in our hearts as well," Marcia Miller said.
