Maine man thanks a stranger for saving his life
By Jamie Azulay
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FARMINGTON, Maine (WMTW) — What started as a typical drive home from work through Farmington ended in a life-changing moment between two strangers. Jeff Mumma, a father from Mercer, now thanks that stranger for saving his life.
Mumma had been talking to doctors about health concerns, but his medical team struggled to pinpoint the cause of his symptoms. That changed when he went to the emergency room after meeting Athanase ‘House’ Couture in a parking lot.
Couture says he was driving home from work when he saw Mumma driving erratically, crossing the center lines. He called dispatch to alert the Franklin County Sheriff.
“For some reason I just had some instinct to stay, to follow him. Stay with him,” Couture said.
He stayed behind the swerving truck until it pulled over into a parking lot. “I see this little girl get out to get in the truck,” Couture explained. “I pulled right up. I opened my window, and I said, ‘Don’t get in the truck.’” He then confronted Mumma about his dangerous driving.
“It kind of scared me when someone out of the blue just shows up and says are you drinking?” Mumma said. He had not been drinking that night, and he was not under the influence of drugs.
The encounter with Couture was enough to convince him, though, that something was seriously wrong with his health.
“It ended up being Meningioma pushing on my brain impacting my balance and my judgment,” Mumma explained.
He still visits the doctor for routine MRIs and check-up appointments, but Mumma has recovered since that brain tumor diagnosis.
“I’m working a 40-hour job,” he said. “I feel normal again. I feel like I’m in my thirties again. I’m 50 now. I feel like I’m in my thirties.”
Mumma gives credit to his doctors and nurses and House Couture.
“I get to watch my daughter grow up now because of him. God knows what could have happened if I hadn’t gone through with all of this and seen what was going on with my health.”
Mumma felt compelled to post on social media to make his appreciation known. He posted in the ‘Farmington Maine Area: News & Community’ page on Facebook.
Couture’s wife, Sara, saw the post, and she knew right away it was about her husband. She said, “It brought tears to all of our eyes.”
House Couture is thankful his brief interaction with Mumma served as a wake-up call. He said, “Sometimes something happens in somebody’s life that switches on a lightbulb or something. I’m glad that it did for him and that it saved his life.”
Mumma looks at life differently now. He says everyone should, “Appreciate every second of what you have not worrying about what you want just appreciating what you have in front of you.”
He also says to listen to your body and pay attention to your health.
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