People are often too preoccupied with their own lives and daily struggles that they often miss the plights of others. But postal worker Ashley Sullivan is different.

She delivers mail on a daily basis in a north Phoenix neighbourhood, so when she saw that an old man's mail was piling up in his mailbox, she grew concerned.

Two years into the job, Sullivan has gotten to know the people from Rosemonte Drive pretty well. "A lot of people on this street in particular will come out and say hi," she told Fox Atlanta.

So when the old man failed to appear and collect his mail, Sullivan had a gut feeling that something was up. "I was worried," she said.

Sullivan contacted the police, who then went on to check on the old man. As it turns out, Sullivan's call just saved his life. The man who lived alone had a stroke in bed, and had been unable to move or talk for several days.

His neighbour Tim Smith called Sullivan a heroine, adding that her concern saved the man's life.

"Even the paramedics and the fire department said he would not have survived through the night for another day. I would put this woman on a pedestal. What she did, just being observant and seeing what is going on in the neighbourhood, a man's life was saved," he said Smith.

But Sullivan remained modest and said that she doesn't consider her actions heroic. "I think most of the people I work with would do the same," she said. "He was just really friendly, and he would joke around a lot and ask how I was doing, and things like that... it's nice to know he was able to get help, I just wish it was sooner."

The postal worker and the rest of the neighbourhood are now waiting for the man's hospital results, and are hoping he will pull through.