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PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (WSAZ) - The aftermath of severe weather always brings out stories of people helping one another. A group of tree removers was out in that big snow we had in January, and one of them suffered a medical emergency.

On Jan. 16, Rick Webb’s work day started like any other, but it turned out to be one he will never forget.

His coworkers were yelling out that one of their guys had collapsed.

“I turned around and looked and he was over there laying down almost. It was just first instinct to get him out and get him to the truck,” Webb said.

He had to rush his coworker John Newman to get medical help.

“Just one of those freak accidents,” Webb said.

We checked in with Newman while he’s been trying to recover at home.

Come to find out, he had suffered an aortic aneurism. The force of blood pumping can split the layers of the artery wall, allowing blood to leak in between them.

“It went through two layers that I know of, and it was working on going through a third thin layer,” said Newman. “That’s the only reason I didn’t bleed out.”

He says it all happened really fast.

“All of a sudden, I started to have a real bad pain in my back between my shoulder blades. Then, it moved to the front too, and I got Rick’s attention because he wasn’t far away from me and I said, ‘we’ve got to go’,” Newman said.

“I mean, it’s just natural instinct: get him, make sure he’s up, get him out of the woods, get him to a vehicle and get him out of there,” Webb said.

Rick had to keep his cool.

“He was actually fairly calm and just doing what needed to be done,” said Newman. “He was driving, I mean, he done great.”

Rick says he was just doing what he had to do.

“Rick’s a good person,” said Newman. “He’s good to work with, he does his job, and he helps someone when they need it. He’s always been here.”

“We’re always looking out for our coworkers,” said Newman. “We’re all out there for each other. We’re here to get a paycheck, go home to our families, and we want to be as safe as possible.”

“I’m just lucky to be here,” Newman said.

Newman tells us he’s still got a road to recovery.

He’ll be taking it easy for the next several months after having to be life-flighted to Columbus, but he’s going on walks and getting stronger every day.