OXFORD, Ohio — Not everyone gets to meet their heroes, but Megan Kinzer is one of the lucky ones.
"Most people get saved, and they never see them again," Kinzer said. "I hugged him like 10 times."
Kinzer, a nurse's aide, returned home last Friday from a 13-hour shift at a nursing home in Harrison. It was around 9 a.m., her fiancé had left for work, and she was in her backyard with her two young daughters.
When she went to grab a drink from inside, everything went wrong.
Watch to see how Kinzer's freak accident helped forge a lasting bond between the Oxford mom and her hero:
Kinzer's foot caught on the doormat, causing her to trip and fall forward into the door. She tried to brace herself, but the window in the door was a single-glass pane, and her right arm went through it.
She pulled her arm out, and it immediately started spurting blood. The glass severed a main artery and cut through several tendons and muscles.
Kinzer needed help fast, but her phone was upstairs.
"I ended up trying to run over to my neighbor's yard, and I realized after probably about 30 seconds she didn't hear me," Kinzer said. "At that point, I was continuing to scream for help, and I went into the garage because I needed a compress to try to stop the bleeding as much as I could. I thought I was going to pass out, so I told my daughter, 'Everything is going to be OK. Mommy's going to be fine. I am going to pass out, but please go and get help.'"
Kinzer managed to walk to the edge of her yard. She said she knelt on the grass, losing consciousness when she looked up and saw several men running toward her.
Cleves-based construction company Hendy, Inc., was replacing curbs on Kinzer's street when they heard her cries for help. Joe Petrey was the first to rush over.
"I just thought that the dog had attacked her. She came running out, and her babies were following her and the dog was right behind them, and I just saw the bleeding, and it was bleeding pretty bad, and I just figured, 'I know what to do,'" Petrey said.
Petrey took his belt off and wrapped it around Kinzer's arm, using it as a tourniquet to slow the bleeding.
"Like the biggest relief," Kinzer said. "I thought it was a miracle. I thought it was God sent. I thought it was just meant to be. And not only was Joe there, but half of his crew was behind him. I knew at that moment that between all of these men, I might be OK, that I might have a chance."
Petrey said he had his son, who works with him, call 911 while other crew members helped keep Kinzer conscious until the ambulance arrived.
"It was just instinct," Petrey said. "Everybody should have that instinct. The thing was to get her to calm down, to stop the bleeding and calm the babies down, and they were good to go."
It took first responders several minutes to reach Kinzer's home. Petrey said those minutes felt like an eternity because whether Kinzer bled out came down to seconds.
"They couldn't get here fast enough," Petrey said.
Once at the hospital, Kinzer underwent eight surgeries and procedures to repair the artery, nerves, tendons and muscles. Her arm is heavily bandaged and will require up to a year of healing and recovery. Medical staff told her she may never regain mobility in her fingers.
Despite the bleak possibility, Kinzer said it's the least of her worries. She's grateful to be alive and that she was able to reunite with the man who helped save her life.
Hendy, Inc. is on a month-long job in the neighborhood. When the crew returned on Monday to continue work on Kinzer's street, the mom of two didn't hesitate to run outside and thank them — especially Petrey.
"I think I made a new best friend," Kinzer said.
When we sat down with both of them on Tuesday, Petrey said he didn't consider what he'd done as heroic in the moment. It was just the right thing to do.
"It was just helping someone out. That's just what I do. I love to help people," Petrey said.
Petrey has continued to wear the belt he used to save Kinzer's life. His crew has dubbed it the "life-saving belt." Kinzer has joined the crew in affectionately calling Petrey "The Hero of Frogtown."
"The police officer said if Joe had not applied the tourniquet, the outcome would not have been the same. I am very thankful for Joe," Kinzer said. "They always say, 'Once a west sider, always a west sider,' and I grew up on the west side. We moved out here to raise our family in the more country, and it's crazy that a west sider ended up saving my life all the way out here in Oxford."
Kinzer penned a heartfelt letter to Hendy, Inc., the first responders and medical staff who helped her that day. She shared that message with us.
I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to the incredible individuals in our community who saved my life during a traumatic medical emergency I experienced on Friday.
I suffered a life-threatening injury after sustaining a severe laceration to my arm, which resulted in the severing of a major artery, along with damage to nerves, muscles, and tendons. In those first critical moments, I was desperately trying to reach my neighbor for help, screaming in panic, but quickly realized she couldn't hear me. At that point, I truly believed I was going to bleed out in front of my children.
Fortunately, construction crews from Hendy Incorporated, who have been working on curb renovations on our street, witnessed me running around gushing blood and immediately sprang into action. These brave men rushed through my back gate, one of them removing his belt to use as a tourniquet without hesitation. They called 911, applied pressure to the wound, kept me calm, and stayed with me until first responders arrived. Their quick thinking and immediate action made all the difference—something the responding Oxford Police officer confirmed, stating that without their intervention, the outcome could have been far worse. Not only did these men save my life on Friday, but they also finished all of their work on the curbs!!!! What amazing men these construction workers are!! I will never be able to repay the man who took his belt off and used it as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding!!
Within minutes, the Oxford Police Department arrived on scene, followed shortly after by Oxford EMS and EMTs, who took over with expert care and urgency. I am beyond thankful for their swift response and professionalism.
If not for these heroic individuals—the construction crew, the first responders, my neighbor and those who stayed by my side—I would not be here today. I want the community to know just how incredible the people of Oxford/Cleves are. In a world that often feels divided, this experience reminded me that there are still kind, selfless people willing to help a stranger in crisis.
Accidents can happen in an instant and change your life forever. I encourage everyone to appreciate the heroes among us—those who rise to the occasion without being asked. Because of them, my children still have their mother, and I’ve been given a second chance at life.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
