Ham radio is what gave Blil Scott K6PKL and Skip Kritcher K7ZAA the gift of friendship.

But ironically, it was the connection via another form of radio communication -- the cellphone -- that gave Skip the gift of life.

According to a report from CBS Sacramento, the Myrtle Point, Oregon radio operator was apparently felled by a stroke last month and desperately punched up numbers on his mobile phone, thinking he was calling his sister. Those numbers connected him instead with Bill, 500 miles away in San Joaquin County, California.

Skip had difficulty speaking because his speech was slurred but suddenly Bill released who it was who was speaking and that his friend was in distress. Bill's wife, Sharon, a retired nurse, concluded Skip had just had a stroke. The couple called 9-1-1 and first responders in Oregon were dispatched to his home to transport him to a hospital

According to the news report, Skip is back at home recovering after four days in the hospital and for now he still has some impaired vision. One of the EMTs told Bill and Sharon he would have died within a few hours if he hadn't found help.

While Skip recovers, he and Bill, who belongs to the Ham Radio Club in Manteca, have gone back to communicating under less urgent circumstances. They are also using their preferred means of getting in touch with one another: amateur radio.