What would you do to save another person’s life?

Mike Patterson and Son (Huffington Post)

Mike Patterson, 43, Rockmart, Ga. died last Friday. I never knew Mike. I had never heard of Mike until I found his obituary in a quick read of news on the Internet. I wish I had known him.

You probably didn’t hear much about this story on the mainstream media because this doesn’t sell like the old adage if it “bleeds, it leads.”

In a world where it seems there is so much evil, there are still people who care for their fellow man.

In that same strange world where the narrative is “white cops shoot black people because they are prejudiced” and “hands up don’t shoot” is nothing more than a blatant lie fostered by a strong-armed robber’s friend and a marketed by a compliant media there is one man who did what was right and paid for it with his own life.

When 4-year old Javaeh Jones, a young black girl was drowning in Euharlee Creek in the small community of Rockmart, it was Mike Patterson who dove into the creek to save her. Mike was with his 9-year old son when they heard the screams and took the action to save the little girl’s life.

Despite severing his spinal cord when he hit the bottom of the creek, he was able to make his way to the shore and save her. Mike was hospitalized and unable to move his legs and one arm. Then medical complications began to develop over the next several days.

He died Friday with his family at his side. His 9-year old son now knows a hero in the truest sense of the word.

“His life and the lives of others are forever changed by his courageous, split-second decision to save another’s life,” Patterson’s family wrote in a statement.

Javaeh emerged from the incident unscathed and her mother expressed her gratitude for Patterson’s selflessness.

“He’s a God-send basically,” Javaeh’s mom told myfoxatlanta.com. “He was there. He was supposed to have been there.”

Patterson didn’t have health insurance at the time of the accident because he had recently started a new construction job, which prompted his supporters to set up a trust to raise money for his mounting medical bills.

Funds and well wishes poured in as Patterson battled scores of ailments, including respiratory problems, pneumonia, a bacterial infection and a blood clot.

When Patterson died on Friday, his fund had already collected more than $90,000 and his Facebook page had amassed more than 65,000 followers.

“I have never been so touched and saddened to hear of the loss of someone I’ve never met,” one Facebook commenter wrote. “What a tremendous human being he was.”

The family is continuing to collect donations to pay for medical costs and to help the family.