Campaign Door Knocker Rescues Injured Woman in Waterford
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct. 4, 2014)
For some the drive to get involved in local politics comes from a calling to make a difference. But on a beautiful September Sunday that calling led political campaign volunteer Nina Muckenthaler to something more than door knocking. That day she saved an injured woman.
Muckenthaler and her friend Terri had been knocking on doors along Elizabeth Lake Road in Waterford on Sept. 23. She was talking to people about the Michigan State Senate race for the 14^th District, and about Democrat Bobbie Walton. Muckenthaler is Walton’s Campaign Manager and Treasurer.  After hearing about the experience, the oc115 approached Muckenthaler to share the story.
“Originally we hadn’t planned to knock doors on that street, but I felt it would be good to get it done. So, we started walking and talking to people around 2:30 that day. It was a beautiful day along the lake. I had no idea what was to come,” she said.
“I had knocked on 1 or 2 doors and was walking along looking at the glistening lake. Then, I realized that I had missed a house. I went back to the address. It was about 2:45 pm. From the road, the house looked very quiet and it looked like no one was home. I expected that I would just leave some information about Bobbie on the door. I knocked on the side door and immediately heard something unexpected. It wasn’t very loud, but it sounded like someone said, “Thank God! Come in! I need help!” I was shocked and wasn’t sure that I heard it correctly. Maybe it was the TV? I paused for a moment to see if I would hear something more. There was nothing. Did someone really need help? It was an odd situation. Should I leave? I decided that I needed to check.
“Cautiously, I turned the door handle and opened the door a few inches. In a loud voice I said, “Did you ask me to come in?” I heard a woman say, “Yes! Thank God! I need help!” I opened the door and stepped inside the house. The kitchen stairs went up to my left and the basement stairs descended in front of me. At the bottom of the stairs sat a woman with her back to me. Her legs were stretched out in front of her. Immediately I noticed that one leg appeared to be about 4 or 5 inches shorter than the other one. She told me that she had fallen going down the basement stairs. I told her that I didn’t think we should move her. She said “No. Call 911”. I was relieved that she seemed to be coherent and that I didn’t see any blood. I called 911. The poor woman kept yelling out her address as I was talking to the dispatcher. I told them that a woman had fallen and couldn’t move. I hung up and told the woman that help was on the way. She exhaled and I could see her shoulders relax.
“I looked at my voter information and saw her name and that she was 83 years old. She said “Oh, thank God. I have been here since 6:30 this morning. I was going down to the basement and missed the last step. I fell, and when I hit the floor I heard something pop. I pulled myself back to the steps, but there was no way that I could get up the stairs.” She had on a light night gown and house coat, and had been sitting on the cold concrete floor since 6:30. I couldn’t believe that she had been there for 8 hours! I asked if she wanted me to get her some food or water. She initially said no due to her situation. I told her that she had been there for quite a while and I was worried that she might get dehydrated. I encouraged her to have a few sips of water. She asked me to get her green cup from the refrigerator, which I did.
“I handed her the cup. She took a sip, closed her eyes and paused, and then took another sip. Then, she exhaled deeply. She looked exhausted and pale. She reached to sit the cup down by the side of the step. I saw her hand trembling and stepped down to help her with the cup. This was the first time she had seen my face, even if it was just from the side. Then she asked, “Who are you?” I told her my first name and that I was just knocking on doors for a friend of mine. Again she said, “Thank God. I was praying all day for someone to come.” She told me that she left her cell phone upstairs, and she seemed mad at herself for doing that. Her house phone had been ringing all day, but of course she couldn’t get it. She told me that her neighbor usually comes home early, but that day she hadn’t. I told her that it wouldn’t have mattered because her neighbor wouldn’t have been able to hear her. I had barely heard her through the door. She was surprised to hear that. It seemed that everything she had counted on to keep her safe was out of reach to her that day. The fact that these things were so close yet out of reach to her seemed to exasperate her. We talked about what she could do in the future to protect herself (by then I had assumed that she lived alone). She said “thank God” she had unlocked the door that morning.
“I wanted to keep the conversation going until help arrived. I wanted to reassure her, and to make sure that she stayed alert. She was intelligent, friendly, and had a warm personality. Amazing considering what she was going through. She told me that both of her knees had been replaced. Then she motioned toward her thigh and guessed that her “femur” had broken or dislocated. She explained how she had ripped up some paper grocery sacks that were close by and had put them on her legs to keep them warm. We speculated that maybe the cold floor had helped her by stopping her leg from swelling. I told her that she had done a good job handling the situation and that I was amazed that she was so alert.
“Then, I heard the sirens. I was relieved that that had arrived so quickly. I told the woman that help was there and I needed to open the door for them. She said “Ok.” I opened the door and saw my friend Terri passing by. She was scanning the area with her eyes and I guessed she was looking for me. I called out her name. She turned and walked in my direction just as the fire trucks were coming to the house. Her eyes filled with concern when she saw the emergency vehicles. I said, “They’re here for me. A woman fell”. Then I turned to the fire trucks and yelled “in here” as I motioned toward the house.
“In turn, three firemen came to the house. Each stopped in front of me and asked, “who are you?” They looked perplexed when I said, “I was just knocking on doors.” The first and second firefighter quickly moved past me and entered the house. The third firefighter gave me a questioning look when I said that I was just knocking on doors. I motioned to my shirt that had Bobbie’s name on it. He seemed to understand and left me to enter the house. I followed them. The first firefighter bent down in front of the woman and said, “is one of your legs usually shorter that the other?” The other two men crouched beside her on the steps.
“I asked if the woman needed to use my cell phone or if I could lock the door and give them the keys. The fireman in front of the woman said “we got this.” It seemed that I was no longer needed, so I said that I would be leaving. The woman tilted back and held out her hand. When I took her hand she thanked me for helping her. I told her that I was glad that I was there to help her, and I told her to take care.
“I was walking away from the house as the paramedics were pulling into the driveway. Neighbors came out to see what was happening. Terri told them that the woman had fallen. Everyone was concerned about her. One of the neighbors told us that she was a nice woman. Bobbie, Terri and I waited outside for a while expecting them to bring the woman out of her house. Unfortunately, we had to leave before that happened. Bobbie and I agreed that we would check on the woman later, and that we would send her a get well card. I have no idea if the woman is voting for my friend Bobbie. We didn’t talk about the election. I just wanted to make sure that she was okay.”
47-year-old Muckenthaler has been volunteering for political campaigns since she was in high school, “ I volunteer to help good candidates because I want to see good people get elected to represent us. We need good people in government. I also believe that citizen participation is essential to a healthy democracy. I enjoy knocking on doors and talking to the people in our area. I have had some interesting experiences over the years, but I have never had to deal with a medical emergency.”
Walton said she is very proud to have such a caring woman for a campaign manager, and that it “just shows the value of getting out and talking to your neighbors, whether it’s volunteering on campaigns or just checking up on them sometimes.”  She said “Nina did a good deed that day, even though she was taken by surprise. She is a capable campaigner. We met six years ago, when we worked on the first Obama campaign as volunteers. We have worked on campaigns together since. In fact, we were both among the founders of the Genesee County Chapter of NOW.”
For more information on Walton’s campaign, led by Muckenthaler, see http://waltonforsenate.com.   Walton is challenging incumbent David Robertson, whose website is www.senatordaverobertson.com.  The 14th district includes Davison, Davison Township, Grand Blanc, Grand Blanc Township, Atlas Township, Goodrich, Mundy Township and Fenton in Genesee County, and Brandon Township, Village of Ortonville, Davisburg, Springfield Township, Groveland Township, Waterford Township, Holly Township, Village of Holly, Rose Township, Highland Township and Lake Angelus in Oakland County.