PHILADELPHIA—Saying it would likely be no big deal to skip her monthly phone call, Rhea Mann, 47, decided Tuesday that after five years, she was allowed to quietly lose touch with paramedic Eric Seversen, who saved the life of her son Brian in 2014. “At first, I’d be sending him flowers for Brian’s birthday or for Christmas and writing him long, thankful emails, but at this point, I don’t think we still have to invite his family over for an uncomfortable dinner party once a year,” said Mann, who was reasonably certain that she could just send Seversen the family Christmas card and pretty much leave it at that. “What are we supposed to keep talking about? Do we even have common interests? All I really say is, ‘Yeah, so, Brian’s 14 now,’ and, ‘Our family is so grateful you got to the skate park so fast.’ Also, to be perfectly honest, it’s not like he went above and beyond the call of duty. Any EMT would have done the same thing. It’s just his job.” Mann later decided to maintain contact after receiving a spontaneous text from Seversen saying how grateful he was to have her family in his life.

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