Family lost contact with grandma after hurricane. So they called the only person who could reach her — a 'Papa Johns' pizza guy

After an intense hurricane, when Eric Olsen and his family couldn't contact his grandmother, Claire, living alone in Palm Coast, Florida, he didn't call the police. Instead, he ordered his 87-year-old granny a pizza from "Papa Johns" with a special instruction to Tyler, the delivery guy, ABC News reported. 

Eric said he'd called his grandmother a day before the storm, but when she didn't respond for two days, he got worried. "Well, I talked to her on Friday morning, and she had just lost power, and she said, 'This is a nightmare.' And then we didn't hear from her for two days," Eric recalled. In fact, he did everything possible to reach his granny, but nothing worked. "I was calling the police department, I was calling the sheriff's department, and no one was answering, so I was really worried," he added. Despite trying, when Eric couldn't contact his grandmother, he decided to get a little creative. He said he thought of ordering for his granny, and if it's delivered, then he would know she's alive. Eric also wrote a special instruction when he ordered pizza, asking the delivery partner to call him once he drops off the pizza. Lance Tyler, the 20-year-old pizza delivery guy, followed the instructions and made Eric talk to Clair over the phone.

Eric said he was relieved when he heard his granny on the call. "Police and fire couldn't do it, but 'Papa Johns' got there in 30 minutes and put the cellphone to her ear," he joked. The Nebraska man said he'd not planned on ordering the pizza and that his decision was too spontaneous. "People are asking why I didn't call the police and ask them to do a wellness check, but I did. Trust me, 'Papa Johns' was a last resort," he confessed. Eric said he couldn't have known that her granny was alright if it hadn't been for the pizza delivery guy. While he was in Nebraska, his father was in South Dakota, and his sister was in Los Angeles, so there were also relatives nearby who could check on Claire. The grandmother was equally thrilled to hear her grandson's voice. "She heard her grandson on the phone and her eyes lit right up," Tyler told Fox 35 Orlando. "I am very thankful and happy that they could do something that good," Clair confessed. 

Senior citizens who live all alone face constant uncertainty about what might happen if they experience a severe health issue. In fact, a survey by the Japan National Police Agency (NPA) found that 17,034 elderly people living alone died at home across the country from January to March 2024. They also found that most of the people (80%) who died alone were 65 years old or older. The risk increases when elderly people have deteriorating health that can potentially lead to accidents, neglect, or late medical intervention. Now, going by the data, it's safe to say Eric did a fantastic job by calling "Papa Johns" to check on his grandmother, and good on the delivery guy who ensured the smooth intervention. 

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