An elderly Upper West Side woman was going into diabetic shock in her apartment when her life was saved by a pollster calling to ask her opinions about Mayor Bloomberg. 79-year-old Bobby Berlin was asleep but in dire straights Monday night when the computer pollster operated by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion rang her up, NBC New York reports. Berlin woke up and managed to pick up the phone, and luckily for her the student manning the "computer-assisted telephone interviewing terminal" noticed something was wrong.
"Something just sounded off," the student tells NBC New York. "It was just really heavy breathing and panting." So the student summoned his supervisor, Daniela Carter, and she asked Berlin if something was wrong. Berlin was able to say, "No."
The number had been dialed by a computer that randomly creates phone numbers with NYC area codes. Carter called 911, but the address Berlin gave her was incorrect. Fortunately the FDNY was able to track down the right address using Berlin's phone number, and she was rushed to a nearby hospital. "The man from the ambulette said I would have died during the night," Berlin recalls.
It's a sweet story (video below), with a happy ending for everyone except poor unloved Bloomberg. After she was released from the hospital, Berlin met up with Carter to thank her for helping save her life. She says she just regrets not getting to sound off on the poll questions. Asked if she had strong opinions about the mayor, Berlin told NBC New York, "I certainly do, and they are all negative." Three words, Ms. Berlin: DEAL WITH IT.
