Minnie John was in the middle of a hike in Moab, Utah when she suddenly fainted. As she came to, she recognized one of the voices who was speaking to her.
But that voice didn’t belong to her husband, Shaji, or her son Brandon, who were with her on the hike.
It was Julie Bowen of “Modern Family.” Bowen, who played Claire Dunphy on the sitcom, had been hiking with her sister, Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer, an infectious disease specialist, and a guide.
Together, they all rescued John who had fainted while waiting for the rest of her family.
John, who lives in New Jersey, was visiting Utah with her family to see Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.
She called the visit to the national park, “one of my longest desired visits.”
But while there, she underestimated the strenuous hike to Delicate Arch.
John made it to the top, but was unable to continue to Delicate Arch. Not wanting her husband and son to miss out, she told them to continue without her and she would wait for them.
“All I remember is sitting there with my head in my hands secure on the rock,” she said. “Next thing I hear someone with a familiar voice kept asking me questions. I wondered if i might be watching tv.”
John, a diabetic, had fainted and fallen on her face. Three good Samaritans came to her rescue.
While one of those good Samaritans happened to be a doctor, the other was Julie Bowen.
“Julie and Annie got both my arms, lifted me up, and put me on the same rock I’d fallen off of. My eyes came into focus and I saw Julie in front of me as Annie was still talking to me,” John said.
As Luetkemeyer helped patch up John, they contacted John’s son to get him to turn around.
John praised Bowen, her sister, and their guide’s perfect timing because had it not been for them she might have been more seriously injured.
After snapping a few photos together, John went to the local hospital where she received several stitches and was told she had a fractured nose.
“I knew I’d never meet them again but I appreciated and admired the human part of what they did — selfless, not selfish,” John said. “We tend to forget the daily kindnesses we encounter. We’re blind to everything around us and don’t imagine that people will be so good, kind and caring.”
Despite the injury and lack of judgement, John said she still considers the hike to be “one of my proudest achievements in my life.”
How awesome that the people who happened to be in the right place at the right time were Julie Bowen and her sister who just happens to be a doctor?
Please share this story on Facebook to thank Julie and Annie, and to encourage others to help when they see others in need.
