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After 33 years on the air WXYZ Reporter Bill Proctor is walking away from TV news.

Proctor a former federal protection officer was a tough reporter. He refused to be bullied by former Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young, he negotiated by phone with cop killer Alberta Easter, and he doggedly pursued allegations that Inkster Judge Sylvia James was misusing public funds.

But, the one story that he is very proud of, is a story that saved a man's life.

Matthew Anderson, now 25, was 4 going on 5 when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1993. Blue Cross Blue Shield refused to allow famed Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson to operate on Matt, approving only radiation treatment. A work colleague of Matt's father called Proctor to ask for help

The reporter made just two calls to the insurance company, starting at 1 p.m. "By five o'clock, just before I went on the air, we got a call back. They said the surgery would be covered," Proctor said. "It's always nice to be able to do something that shows the power of the media. I'm sure that if no reporter called, Blue Cross would have stood its ground."

"Thank you," Matt said last week. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

The tough former cop, turned reporter finally had tears in his eyes.

He signs off on Friday.

H/T Detroit News