GRAND FORKS- A man had a mysterious medical scare while he took part in an annual holiday tradition in his neighborhood he started.
Dale Keisch has been helping his neighbors set up their Christmas lights on their homes for several years.
"He kind of started with this house and then next door, said Keisch's friend Janelle Menard. "As years went by people would compliment him and then he'd say, 'well, if you furnish the lights I can put them up for you.'"
Other neighbors joined in with the project and now the tradition includes hot cocoa and conversation with some in the neighborhood who have a difficult time leaving their homes.
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This year, those relationships paid off.
A few days into the season, Keisch hung lights with care for about a dozen homes. But neighbors noticed Dale wasn't feeling well and one of them him to Altru.
"His sodium level was over 170," said Menard. "Doctor Bansal there had said he's never seen anyone come in conscious with a level like that. He said people are either unconscious or dead. Or hours from death. And he said if he wasn't brought in when I did he would've been dead the next day."
It's still a mystery why Keisch's blood pressure was at dangerous levels but he is set to go in for a round of tests early next month.
"If you talk to the doctors at the hospital they'd tell you he's definitely a medical miracle," said Menard.
Neighbors say they'll keep the Christmas lights up for a couple of months while Dale recovers.
