An elderly cancer patientâs desperate 911 call seeking food has prompted a flood of donations and touched people well beyond his North Carolina city.
Clarence Blackmonâs story made international headlines after the 81-year-old Fayetteville, N.C., man called 911 this week, saying he was hungry and needed someone to bring him food.
Blackmon had just returned home to an empty fridge after spending months in hospital for cancer treatments,
In a recording of the 911 call, Blackmon can be heard asking the dispatcher if someone could go to the grocery store for him.
âWhatever you can do to help,â he said. âI canât do anything. I canât go anywhere. I canât get out of my damn chair.â
911 operator Marilyn Hinson told Blackmon that help was coming. She went to the store herself and picked up some cabbage, beans, beets and popcorn at the manâs request. She delivered the food with the help of local police officers.
âIt was like a little miracle ringing in my ear and I thought, well, Jesus, youâve answered all those prayers,â Blackmon told ABC after Hinson made him some ham sandwiches.
He said he has no immediate family nearby, so he resorted to calling 911.
Hinson said she wanted to help because she knows what itâs like to be hungry.
âIâve been hungry. A lot of people canât say that, but I can and I canât stand for anyone to be hungry,â she said.
After Blackmonâs story was picked up by several news outlets, food donations started pouring in.
Blackmon said his cupboards are so full now that
ABC also reports that a nurse will now visit Blackmon regularly to make sure he never goes hungry again.
