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Ogden • Harold Muir and his family are grateful this season for a mail carrier named Paul Littrell of Roy.

Muir is recovering from a broken ankle and a concussion, which he suffered after falling from the back of his boat on Oct. 31.

"If it wasn't for him, who knows how long I would've been out there waiting for help," said Muir in his Clinton home.

Muir, who works at Hill Air Force Base as a system analyst, said he came home for lunch that day like he always does. During his lunch break he decided to clean the gear out of his boat from a recent fishing trip. The boat is parked in the driveway in front of his garage, reported the Standard-Examiner.

"I was getting in and out of (the boat), like I've done many times," Muir said. "Just doing the normal maintenance and then I got out, when I missed the last rung and my foot went through it and I flipped backwards, cracking my head on the driveway and my foot got stuck in the ladder."

Muir said doctors believed he may have blacked out for a few minutes after his fall because of how hard he hit his head, which required four stitches.

When Muir woke up, his head was in a pool of blood and his right foot was still stuck in the ladder rung.

He managed to get his foot free, but began to shake, possibly from shock. He also realized his cellphone had flown out of his pocket during the fall and his wife, Julie Muir, who teaches English at Clearfield High School would not be home before 4 p.m. at the earliest.

"Everything was a blur at that point, but then I heard the mail truck by the mailbox," Muir said.

Muir yelled for help three times. Next thing he knew, Littrell was standing next to him.

Littrell, who has only had the route since September but has been a mail carrier for 11 years, said nothing seemed unusual about that day, but as he pulled away from the Muir home, he heard someone yelling.

"Usually it's a wife or husband hollering at their spouses or parents yelling at their kids," Littrell said.

He pulled a little farther down the quiet street. When he looked back and saw the garage door open, there was just "something" that made him turn around and check to make sure everything was OK.

He found Muir laying in the shaded driveway in a large pool of blood and shaking. Muir gave Littrell his truck keys so Littrell could get a blanket for him.

"I was shaking like crazy," Muir said. "I couldn't stop."

Littrell called 911 and stayed by Muir until paramedics arrived. They took Muir to McKay-Dee Hospital where he was treated for his injuries.

Muir has to stay off his right foot for six weeks. The orthopedic surgeon put a metal plate in his ankle, along with seven screws.

"I really thought I hurt my head worse than my ankle," Muir said.

Julie Muir wrote a letter to the Clearfield postmaster expressing her gratitude for Littrell's decision to turn his truck around.

"Thank heaven for good, everyday people like Paul who go beyond the call of duty! We will never forget what he did for us," she wrote.