this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2025
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A Toronto man is thanking the efforts of a Good Samaritan who came to his aid following a heart attack, while he says many others ignored his pleas to call emergency services.

The actions of the man who saved his life have recently spread like wildfire across social media platforms, serving as a reminder that small acts of kindness take very little effort, and they can be matters of life or death.

Brijesh Patel was in the middle of a workout a few weeks ago at his gym in Liberty Village when he began to feel off.

Leaving with chest tightness, he knew he shouldn’t go home where he lives alone. “The chest pain was getting worse, I was sweating a lot, and then my right hand started feeling numb, tingling,” Patel said to Global News.

In the moment, he says he knew he was having a heart attack.

Sitting on a bench in front of a restaurant, Patel began asking people if they could call him an ambulance. But despite being close enough to people he could touch them, no one was responding to his calls for help.

Finally, a man responded, telling him that his phone was dead. That’s when Patel realized he was holding his own phone, but in his disoriented state, he didn’t know where he was.

Patel says the man ran into a nearby Pi Co. after calling 911, to ask for their address. Shortly after, he came out to wait with Patel for the ambulance.

“I remember him specifically saying, ‘Hang in there brother, I can hear their sirens, they’re close,’ which was very assuring,” he said.

But as the paramedics began taking him away, he realized he didn’t know his hero’s identity.

“I did not get his name at that moment at all,” he said. “When they were putting me on a stretcher, I wanted to say, ‘stop the guy,’ but the words didn’t come out.”

Patel said he asked his friend to go to the restaurant and ask them to review their security cameras for when the Good Samaritan came in.

They released a still image of the man while Patel was recovering in hospital to clear a blocked artery.

During this time, his sister, Sejal, put together a social media video asking people to help identify their hero. It worked.

But Sejal said the man wanted to remain anonymous. “When we were trying to thank him, he said, ‘I don’t think I did anything special. Please don’t give me more accolades than I need, I’m just doing what’s normal, I’m doing what’s human,'” she recounted.

Still, she managed to put her brother in touch with his mystery man thanks to a flood of people on social media who started looking for him following her plea. “He was like, ‘I don’t need anything.’ Well, I’m like, ‘I need to buy you a beer,” said Patel.

The man who came to his aid may not have wanted their thanks, but Patel said it’s important for him to receive his family’s gratitude.

As for the people who ignored him, Patel said he holds no ill will towards them, but he’s encouraging them to follow the lead of the man who did “what’s human.”

“Sometimes maybe just slow down so you can help the opportunity to help someone,” he said, adding, “it costs nothing to dial 9-1-1.”

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[–] Capricorn_Geriatric@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It costs nothing to dial 911

Cries in US Healthcare

[–] CanadianCarl@sh.itjust.works 3 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

It costs nothing to call 911, but $45 for an ambulance. How much is that across the border, in american dollars?

[–] Glytch@lemmy.world 4 points 19 hours ago

Multiply that $45 by 100 and you're about right, depending on the Ambulance company.

Then you better hope the hospital they take you to is "in network" for your insurance company or you're looking at ten times the ambulance charge (or more) in hospital bills. Even if it is in network, you're still paying through the nose for your copay.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Right? One of my greatest fears is that I'll be incapacitated to the point where I can't tell someone to not call an ambulance for me.

[–] Nouveau_Burnswick@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I do first aid training.

  1. Only 20% of people will help. Don't pretend you're part of the 20%, most people are in the 80% most days. Keep your helper mindset active always.

  2. Never ask "someone" for help. Single individuals put to get them to help.

[–] dickalan@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

I let homeless people use my phone to call emergency services I know which group I'm in fuck I broke up a fight between a pitbull with its balls intact and a homeless man, I know which group I'm in

[–] excursion22@piefed.ca 7 points 1 day ago

I remember a time where I really hesitated to help someone, and I realized that feeling of the 80%. "It's not my problem. They'll be fine. Someone else will help. I have things to do." But what happens when we all think that?

It wasn't emergent, an elderly man had fallen and gotten a bit tangled up in a shopping cart. No injuries and just needed some time to catch his breath. That feeling while walking away, knowing you helped someone though...it's pretty special.

[–] Evkob@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's beyond fucked that some people ignored a guy having a heart attack pleading for them to call 911.

[–] FlyingSpaceCow@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

When people aren't coherent it's too easy in a big city to dismiss them.

If a stranger reached out saying "Hey!...I'm feeling... Nine one..." while stumbling sweating and trailing off I'd like to think I'd stop and help, but I can also see how others would habitually keep their distance from a stranger acting out of the ordinary; and how they might not hear them fully and walk on their way before the person in distress can finish their sentence.

Definitely a teachable moment.