While most people don’t appreciate being pulled over while driving, Tamara Palmer thanked the police for pulling her over and by doing so, saving her life.
In December 2022, Palmer was driving on Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, when she was pulled over for erratic driving.
Police officers were alerted to a possible drunk driver.
Officer Raymond Schoonmaker and Patrolman Bret Aton responded to the call and saw Palmer driving erratically.
You can see in the dash cam video that she was swerving in and out of lanes multiple times.
Her car also hit the middle curb a few times.
Palmer’s right signal light was also on the whole time she was driving, even if her car was heading straight down the road.
After a while, Palmer made a U-turn and finally stopped her car on a side street.
The next part of the video showed Palmer standing outside her car talking to the police officers.
Everyone was calm while trying to figure out what was happening with Palmer.
One officer asked her, “Did you have anything to drink today?”
Palmer answered that she did.
When they asked her what she drank, she replied, “Two cups of tea.”
The officers clarified and asked if she had drunk any alcohol, and Palmer immediately said that she didn’t.
They also asked her if she had taken any kind of medication.
She answered, “Yes, pain reliever for my headache. Aleve.”
She explained that she took two Aleves, to be exact.
When the officers asked if she was taking any prescription drugs, she answered that she didn’t.
Besides her headache, Palmer also reportedly complained about vision problems that day.
After a few seconds, the officers decided sending Palmer to the hospital in an ambulance would be best.
They explained that they couldn’t allow her to drive anymore that day because they found out that she had already been pulled over three times that day because of her erratic driving.
In the video, Officer Schoonmaker says, “I think something medical is going on with you, and you really need to go to the hospital.”
In February this year, Palmer reached out to the Mount Pleasant Police Department.
She told them that when she got to the hospital, she had an MRI which detected a large brain tumor.
Doctors told her the tumor might have been growing in her head for the last 35 years.
Palmer had emergency surgery to remove the tumor less than 48 hours after she was pulled over. The surgery lasted eight hours.
She shared, “[It was a] very successful surgery. I didn’t have any complications. I feel like I didn’t have any surgery at all.”
Palmer also said that she was discharged two days after her surgery.
Palmer told Good Morning America that she was grateful to have been given a second chance at life.
She credits the police officers for saving her life, thanks to them quickly realizing she had a medical condition that needed treatment.
She also told GMA,
“I just wake up every morning and say, ‘Thank you.’ I opened my eyes, and I’m alive. I go to work. I enjoy my kids. I enjoy my work. I just enjoy any breath I take. December 2, it’s my second birthday because [of these] police officers. They [gave] me the best birthday gift I could ask for – life.”
Thanks to the quick thinking of Officer Schoonmaker and Patrolman Aton, Palmer’s medical situation was quickly discovered and diagnosed.
She is now fully recovered and back to working as an assistant teacher.
We’re so happy that this story has a great ending for both Palmer and the police officers.
Watch the officers unknowingly save a motorist’s life by pulling her over below!
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