When pollsters call, people usually don’t want to answer — but for one Upper West Side woman, the call from Marist College pollsters helped save her life. Melissa Russo has the exclusive.
Most people may not enjoy getting phone calls from pollsters, but one Manhattan woman's life was saved by such a call Monday night.
Bobby Berlin was going into diabetic shock in her Upper West Side apartment when she received a call from a Marist College student conducting a public opinion poll about Mayor Bloomberg.
When Berlin answered the phone, the Marist student on the other end of the line sensed something wasn't right.
"Something just sounded off," he said. "It was just really heavy breathing and panting."
He called in his supervisor Daniela Carter, who asked Berlin if she was OK.
"No," Berlin said.
Carter stayed on the line and called 911. Responders determined the address Berlin had given authorities was incorrect, but the FDNY was able to track down the right address using her phone number.
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"The man from the ambulette said I would have died during the night," Berlin said later.
"It had to be fate," said Carter. "It just had to be. Because what are the odds? What if we hadn't called?"
Daniela Carter and the Marist pollster paid a visit Wednesday to Berlin, who wanted to thank them in person.
Berlin hugged the two of them, telling them, "I owe my life to you."
Berlin's only regret is that she did not get to answer the pollsters' questions about Bloomberg.
So on Wednesday, when asked by NBC New York if she had strong opinions about the mayor, Berlin quipped, "I certainly do, and they are all negative."
The computer program used for Marist polling makes up random phone numbers using New York City area codes.
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