A Texas jail guard gave a teary-eyed thank you to the prisoners who saved his life after he suffered a heart attack.
Two years ago, Gary Grimm, 52, was watching over a group of criminals in their cell at the Parker County District Courthouse, when he suddenly collapsed in his chair.
"I just slumped and went out," Grimm told WHAS11. "Next thing I remember is looking up at the ceiling in the ER."
Grimm said the eight men originally thought he was playing a trick on them, but then realized he was in grave danger.
When the prisoners realized their guard had gone unconscious, they frantically banged on their cell door until they broke free.
While most people assumed they would have attempted to escape or steal Grimm's weapon, the unlikely heroes did the exact opposite.
A surveillance video caught the prisoners shouting for help while they rushed to Grimm's aid. They checked him and discovered he was without a pulse. They all stayed by his side until help arrived.
"Instead of overtaking me and taking my gun, and killing me or taking a hostage and escaping, they looked at me as a human being," he said.
Unfortunately, Grimm, who's worked as a jail guard for the past 20 years, was forced to take an early retirement following his health scare, and must undergo open heart surgery this week to get a Left Ventricle Assistance Device (LVAD) installed.
"I need that for at least six months, and then maybe we can have a transplant," he said.
Grimm said despite the their crimes, he's always treated prisoners with respect, following the mantra, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
"I don't care if they're a drug user, hot check writer, or child molester. They're still a human being. I don't have to like what they did, but it's not my position to be the judge and jury," Grimm said.
While Grimm wasn't able to personally thank the prisoners as they have since been moved to separate facilities, he said he gets emotional just thinking about the situation, and how things could have turned out dramatically different.
"I get emotional. If they wished harm for me, all they had to do was sit there and do nothing."
Has an unexpected person ever change your life?