Bernard Riley will appreciate the gift of life a little more after helping save one.

On Feb. 17, postman Riley was making his usual rounds when he heard soft cries. He knew then that his day was about to change.

“I heard this faint voice saying ‘help me,’” he said. “So I looked and there she was on the ground.”

An elderly customer of Riley’s had fallen down in her garden and was helpless.

Riley’s previous experiences in the U.S. Army allowed him to give her proper care.

“She did not need CPR, so I just looked for a blanket to cover her because it was a cold day,” Riley said.

He waited with her until the paramedics arrived, helping her to get comfortable. The victim’s family as well as post-master, Bill Farrior, credits Riley with saving her life.

“If Bernard would not have been there the outcome could have been disastrous,” Farrior said.

“My mail truck has a lot of tapping noises in it, and I had the radio going, so it’s by the grace of God that I heard her,” Riley said.

“What Bernard did is just typical of his character,” Farrior said, “He sets such a great example for his co-workers and this post office.”

In reward for his actions, donations are being made to Riley’s church, but he knows he will get greater recognition later.

“I will get my reward in heaven,” Riley said.

Farrior and other co-workers of Riley’s have been planning ways to acknowledge Riley’s actions.

“We plan on having some kind of party, and then sending the story to the ‘Postal Record’,” said Farrior.

The “Postal Record” is a monthly magazine that is mailed to postal workers in the southeastern region of the United States. It has a special page for postal workers that help others, like Riley did.

Despite the heroic effort by Riley, he remains humble. Riley believes anyone would have done the same thing.

“I think that anyone would have helped, or at least made the 911 call,” Riley said. “I know that any postal worker doing the rounds would have definitely stopped.”

The experience is still like a dream to Riley.

“You know you always read about postal workers pulling people out of burning houses and things like that,” Riley said, “but I never thought that would be me.”