A Wisconsin woman's life suddenly came into jeopardy when she slipped last week while taking some refuse to a burn barrel in her backyard and fell into a creek.

After crawling out of the stream that runs through the rear of her property in the village of Union Center, she was stuck for 45 minutes lying in the ice and snow before a UPS man heard her crying for help and came to rescue her, WMTV-TV in Madison reported.

Now, thanks to a Jan. 24 ordeal that could well have taken Mariann Rott's life, UPS driver Patrick Shore considers Rott a friend.

According to WMTV, when Rott, 76, was taking her trash out to the aforementioned burn barrel, she lost her balance, slipped and fell into the creek, leaving her in a very precarious position.

While it was freezing cold at the time of the incident -- the high temperature that day was 32 degrees -- her clothes became dripping wet, and she reported losing feeling in her legs.

Her husband, Randy, was inside and couldn't hear her, WMTV reported.

Rott is convinced that without Shore's help, she would not have survived.

"I was so thankful that he come when he did," she told WMTV. "You know, I would've been dead. I would've died right then and there."

When she heard the UPS driver pull up to her home, Rott knew that was her chance for rescue.

Shore heard her cries for help and ran to her aid.

"I could see the look in her eyes and man, she ... was in a desperate mode," Shore told WMTV. "She really needed some help and fortunately I was there to give that. So right time, right place."

He gave her the assistance she desperately needed. It wasn't easy.

"I tried to stand her up but that didn't work, so I got down on one knee, kind of put my arms under her and cradled her and said, 'OK, baby, let's go.' So up we went," Shore said.

He carried her to her garage and helped wrap her up in blankets, WMTV reported. Once they got inside her home, her husband called 911.

Rott was hospitalized for hypothermia but has since been released.

She gained more than a new lease on life -- according to Shore, she also gained a friend.

"She's not just a customer now. She's also a friend," he said.

The two said they plan to stay in touch.

Shore has worked for UPS for 40 years, according to WMTV, and he's come to a conclusion based on his experience.

"I don't know anyone, you know, of all the years I’ve done this that at one time or another does not need help for something," he said.

Case in point, according to UPS, this isn't even the first time Shore's saved someone. UPS reported that Shore once rescued a man whose car went over a bridge, according to WMTV.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.