When Dallas Roberson first got a cell phone several years ago, he had trouble with reception at his farm near Pikeville, Tenn. Today, he is thankful he switched service providers.
Mr. Roberson, 62, a cattle farmer and DuPont retiree, suffered an aortic aneurysm rupture on March 3 while he was on a tractor in the middle of a field.
“If I hadn’t had my phone,” he said, “I wouldn’t have been found for at least two more hours. It would have been all over.”
Mr. Roberson said he felt a tremendous pop in his head while on the tractor. He turned off the tractor and rolled onto the ground.
“Once I got on the ground,” he said, “I had to start thinking about what I could do for myself.”
Realizing he had his Verizon wireless cell phone in his overalls, he used speed dial to reach his wife, who called 9-1-1.
Less than an hour later, a Life Force helicopter landed in his field and whisked him to Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga. After nine hours of surgery, he is now recuperating at home.
Mr. Roberson said the location of his aortic rupture — he remembers hearing a first responder saying he was “bleeding out” — occurred in such a way that it gave him more time than most people in the same situation.
“I got a little bit lucky,” he said.
His Verizon service, Mr. Roberson said, was instrumental.
“I’ve got good coverage,” he said, “and I thank God for it.”
Clint Cooper is the faith editor and a staff writer for the Times Free Press Life section. He also has been an assistant sports editor and Metro staff writer for the newspaper. Prior to the merger between the Chattanooga Free Press and Chattanooga Times in 1999, he was sports news editor for the Chattanooga Free Press, where he was in charge of the day-to-day content of the section and the section’s design. Before becoming sports ...
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