MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — Just a few days after Christmas, Larry Meeks was supposed to be at work for his early morning shift at the Mayfield Heights Costco store.
But when he still wasn’t there a little after five o’clock, his manager called him. Meeks answered, but it was clear something was wrong.
“I was trying to talk to the managers,” Meeks explained.
But he couldn’t; he was mumbling, and his coworkers knew something was wrong. They called EMS, and he was rushed to the hospital.
“I’m very grateful for them reaching out and realizing I needed some help,” Meeks said.
Rosa Barbour got a call that morning from Costco, too. She called her nephew and knew there was something very wrong.
“I got the same response from him that Costco had gotten, so I got dressed and went to the ER. When I got there, he was in the ER, he looked at me,” explained Barbour.
But Meeks couldn’t talk. Barbour said Meeks is like her son. She said he eats right and works out, but at 41 years old, Meeks had a stroke.
Meeks spent some time in the ICU but is now on the road to recovery.
“I was doing whatever I could to make it for me and my loved ones,” Meeks said.
He was fighting for his life, especially for his 16-year-old son Quincy.
Meeks is out of the hospital and recovering but has difficulty speaking.
“I know what I want to say, but it’s hard for me to say it,” he explained.
Meeks has a message for his coworkers and the viewers who emailed us asking how he was doing:
“I want them to know I’m doing fine and I’m getting better and will get my occupational therapy going,” said Meeks.
Meeks is grateful for his Costco coworkers.
“We care for each other I can say that,” Meeks said.
RELATED: Costco employee suffering stroke misses work; a call from his manager may have saved his life
Watch more about Meeks and his coworkers in the player below:
