A woman from the Kentville, N.S., area who was in distress called a wrong number, which may have saved her life.

Eileen O'Hara, who's blind, thought she was having a stroke and dialed what she thought was her daughter's number.

By mistake, the 77-year-old called Stephen Dykens.

Dykens was driving home to drop off his dog when O'Hara's call suddenly changed his plans.

"I was going to ignore it, and she said, 'I'm scared, I can't find my daughter and I think I'm having a stroke,' and when she said the word stroke that made me think, 'Wow this person really needs some help,'" Dykens said.

After Dykens discovered where she lived, he realized he was just minutes away.

"I looked up at that moment and the Greenwich Road sign was right there so I said 'We're here, we got to help ya,'" he said.

Dykens and his passenger rushed to her door and did what they could while they waited for an ambulance after calling 911.

"I was afraid to walk, but I opened the door to let them in and they came in to rescue me," O'Hara said.

"I just sort of bent down on my knee and had my hand on her leg and just kind tried to talk calmly and assure her that help was on the way," Dykens said.

O'Hara, who has lung and brain cancer, was taken to hospital and treated for bleeding in her brain.

She says she's grateful for the kindness of strangers.

"I'd say thank you very much, I appreciate it," she said with tears in her eyes.

Ruth Gaul, O'Hara's daughter, says words are not enough.

"What do you do when that happens? You just say thank you over and over again, and I would like to meet him and thank him in person," Gaul said.

But Dykens says he doesn't consider himself a hero.

"It's not that big a deal, I can't see why anyone else wouldn't do it, I mean it's just kind of wild that she called the right car going by," he said.