A Pensacola, Florida, restaurant employee helped save a 78-year-old man’s life after noticing something was off: a longtime regular hadn’t come in for his usual meals.
For a decade, Charlie Hicks was a familiar face at Shrimp Basket, where he routinely ordered the same dinner twice a day, according to CBS News, the Pensacola News Journal and The Washington Post. After driving over from the apartment where he lived alone, he would ask for gumbo with rice — and no crackers, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
So when Hicks didn’t show up for two days in September, staff members grew worried.
“Mr. Hicks don’t miss no days,” chef Donell Stallworth told CBS News. “We open the doors up, Mr. Hicks is there to greet us.”
“I knew, then, something was wrong,” he added.
The team tried calling Hicks and learned he wasn’t feeling well, per the Pensacola News Journal. Staff leader Denise Galloway then brought his gumbo to his apartment. Hicks asked her to leave the food outside his door, concerned she could catch an infection, the outlet reported.
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But after two days of deliveries, coworkers still couldn’t reach him.
During a shift, Stallworth drove to Hicks’ residence and knocked repeatedly. As he was about to leave, he heard a faint voice calling for help.
“And right when I was going to turn, I heard something, a voice, just like, ‘Help,’ ” Stallworth said. “And then I opened the door up. He was [lying] on the ground, and I didn’t know what his condition was; that was the scariest part right there.”
It’s unclear how long Hicks had been on the floor, but it was later discovered he had two broken ribs and was dehydrated.
After Hicks was taken to the hospital, the restaurant staff made sure he still received his gumbo. They also helped find him a new apartment next to the restaurant — and checked that it was in good condition before he moved in.
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“I’m glad to have you back, buddy,” Stallworth told Hicks when he returned to the restaurant for the first time since the incident.
“We made a connection,” Hicks told CBS News. “We made a connection.”
Stallworth said the move nearby was “the best thing going,” adding, “He’s that uncle. He’s that grandfather. He’s that best friend. He’s all in one.”
