An elderly Ottawa woman wants to find the man who helped her in a blinding snowstorm Wednesday.
Charlotte McCarthy says she was distraught and confused when a stranger grabbed her arm, bought her a coffee and sent her home in a cab. Charlotte McCarthy still gets emotional when she thinks of how desperate she felt that night and how, what she calls her “guardian angel” came to the rescue.
At 75, Charlotte McCarthy isn't as sure on her feet as she once used to be, especially on these slippery sidewalks. She prides herself on her independence but got caught unexpectedly in Wednesday's snow storm while she was stocking up for groceries at the Gloucester Centre for her upcoming surgery.
“I was confused, disoriented, scared out of my mind,” she says, “not knowing how I was going to get home.”
It was just after 4 p.m. Charlotte had called Para Transpo to pick her up but the storm was causing delays. She says after waiting several hours for Para Transpo, unable to get through on the phone, she decided to catch a bus home but wasn't familiar with where to catch it.
It was dark by now and stormy and Charlotte was loaded down with stuff. She made it to one side of the Transitway only to be told she was on the wrong side. She crossed over, only to be told the same thing.
“I said, “Is this the right spot?” and they said, “Oh, no, you've got to go across.” When they said that, I lost it, I completely lost it.”
But Charlotte says one man at the bus stop pulled out his cellphone and called a taxi.
“When I heard him calling Blueline, I said I can't pay and he says, “Not to worry, I’m going to take care of you.”
She says the man brought her to Tim Hortons and bought her a coffee while they waited for the cab, then ran to get cash to pay for her trip home.
“Unbelievable,” she says, “He is my guardian angel.”
Charlotte says what she remembers of her “Guardian Angel” was that he had a full beard, was married, in his 30's. He told her he was Lebanese and went by the name Aston.
He called her that evening when she got home, just to make sure she was all right. She forgot to get his number but will never forget what he did.
“I would like to say to him I love you, you're my Guardian Angel,” said an emotional Charlotte, “and give him biggest hug I could possibly give him.”
