Riding to the rescue

On a recent Saturday afternoon, a prince was brought home to his family.

James “Jimmy” Doyle is not a prince of privileged birth or royal blood. Rather, he earned the title “prince among men” by nobly performing countless caring acts of kindness for others.

After a lifetime of being the guy who always was there for those in need, the 80-year-old firefighter from Great Neck, N.Y., needed help of his own. Like many people in this mobile age, he found himself confined to a nursing home far from immediate family.

“We weren’t expecting Jimmy to go into a nursing home, but about a year ago he had back surgery,” said nephew Jerry Doyle, who lives with his family in Crozet. “The surgery failed and he couldn’t walk after that, and had to go into the nursing home.

“We’ve been waiting for the last nine or ten months to get him down here. When a bed finally became available in the nursing center at Our Lady of Peace, I had to figure out how to get him from there to here.

“Airlines wanted $8,000 to $10,000 to do it, and ambulance companies were between $6,500 and $8,000. I was even told I might have to rent multiple ambulances and change them from state to state, because of federal regulations.

“I couldn’t believe the prices. And financially I just couldn’t do it.”

Doctors’ orders stated that Doyle had to be able to lie down during the trip. There also would need to be an emergency medical technician on hand to provide medical assistance if needed.

In desperation the nephew thought about renting a van and bringing his uncle home himself. He quickly dismissed that idea, because he didn’t want to take any chances with his uncle’s life.

“The weight of this whole thing fell on me, because I’m the oldest and I’m the one taking care of Jimmy,” said Doyle, who owns a small ceramic tile business called Precision Tile. “I begged Hospice and the head social worker at the nursing home up there for help, but what I got was, ‘My hands are tied’ or ‘We don’t handle that.’

“No one could fix the bridge from nursing home to nursing home. The guilt I was feeling was horrendous. Although I was doing everything I could, I still felt like I wasn’t doing my job.

“I wasn’t sleeping and I was worrying all the time. It’s amazing how you can be left out in the middle of nowhere.”

Jimmy Doyle dedicated most of his life to helping people caught in the middle of life’s difficulties. When his father died at the age of 35, he shouldered the responsibility of providing for the family.

“I think a big part of Jimmy never getting married was because he was taking care of his mother first, and then his sister, who developed emphysema,” Doyle said. “He took care of his sister for many years until she passed away.

“We used to go to my grandmother’s house on Sundays for dinner. I remember being there at the dinner table when the fire whistle went off at the station, which was just two blocks away.

“Jimmy was tripping going out the front door, because he couldn’t get one of his shoes on. We were all laughing, because he had one shoe on and one shoe off, but he was going to that fire department.”

Doyle recently marked his 62nd year as a member of Great Neck’s Alert Engine Hook and Ladder and Hose Company No. 1.

He made his living as a maintenance man for the nearby town of Kings Point, but his great love is the fire company.

In the end it was Doyle’s fellow firefighters who found a way to reunite their prince with his family.

His best friend and fellow firefighter, 81-year-old George Mogchkavitz, made it happen.

“Jerry explained to me the problem he was having, and I went over to the firehouse to talk to one of the fellows,” Mogchkavitz said via telephone from his New York home.

“He said, ‘Why don’t you talk to the guys at the other firehouse, and maybe they’ll let us use the ambulance they have.’

“So I asked them, and that’s what happened. We got the ambulance, and here we came. The guys who made the trip down with me have known Jimmy for a long time.

“They know that anytime anybody in the firehouse got sick or something, or they needed someone to visit them, Jimmy always made sure he went. I’ve known Jimmy my whole life, and he’s just a friendly guy who has always helped others.”

Firefighters Michael Green and Zachary Lobodzic volunteered to drive the ambulance. Nicole Unger, an EMT with the Alert Fire Department, and a medic going through training at the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point volunteered to watch over Doyle during the trip to Charlottesville.

Patricia “Trisha” Gilmer, the social worker at Our Lady of Peace, was instrumental in helping the transition go flawlessly.

She said one of the things she loves about her job is witnessing ordinary people doing inspirational things.

“During these times when we’re all dealing with so many bad things, it’s wonderful to see a picture of good, loyalty and true caring,” Gilmer said.

“Mr. Doyle’s reputation for being a kind man preceded him.

“Upon meeting him, I saw what a sweet spirit he has. This whole heartwarming story has really touched me.”

Because the firefighters had to get the ambulance back to the firehouse as soon as possible, there was no time for lingering goodbyes. Mogchkavitz was in tears when he bade farewell to his old buddy.

Every evening when Doyle was in the nursing home in New York, Mogchkavitz would visit and bring him dinner.

On the recent Saturday afternoon when the best friend could do no more, he offered simple words of comfort.

“The last thing George told Jimmy was that he was where he was supposed to be,” Jerry Doyle said. “He said, ‘You’re supposed to be with family.’

“When the guys were here I wanted to thank them so much, but I could never thank them enough. I had some money I wanted to give them, you know, just to buy them dinner on the way back.

“They wouldn’t accept it. George said, ‘Jerry, don’t worry about it. This is our way of giving back to Jimmy for his service.’ ”

After a recent visit with his uncle, Doyle paused before heading home.

For a few moments he silently looked out a window of the nursing center before sharing what was on his mind.

“Jimmy is a quiet old Irishman,” the nephew said with a reflective tone in his voice.

“When I was a kid he would take me along for the ride when he’d go out and visit people who were sick or homebound.

“He wouldn’t talk about it, he just did it. I didn’t understand fully what that all meant until the shoe was on the other foot.

“When I had nowhere else to turn, these people who brought Jimmy down here rose to the occasion. They never talked about it — they just did this very special thing.”