14 DAY TRIAL // A Georgia emergency responder managed to save her father's life on her first day as a 911 operator in DeKalb County.
Crystal Morrow was four hours into her first shift at the call center in August and had already answered about 40 emergency calls when she took a call about a 55-year-old man who was in diabetic shock.
After picking up, the woman heard a familiar voice and realized it was her aunt Gail Morrow, who was calling 911 because her father was having a diabetic emergency.
“I heard her voice and I saw her name pop up on the screen. I said, ‘Wait, that is my aunt. I did freeze, my hands froze over the keyboard, but I knew I had to get the call in.’” Morrow recalls.
Although Crystal was shocked when she realized the call was about her father, she managed to remain calm and walk her aunt through all the steps needed to save her dad's life. She sent an ambulance to her family's home and stayed on the line with her aunt Gail until paramedics arrived. All that time, her aunt had no idea she was talking to her niece.
“I want you to watch him very closely, if he becomes less awake and vomits, quickly turn him on his side,” Morrow said during the call. “If he gets worse in any way, call us back immediately for further instructions, OK?”
Morrow handled the tough situation exactly how she should and managed to save her dad's life, who recovered from the diabetic shock. After the call was over, she got up from her chair as she felt the need to go outside for a breath. She was probably very tense, but during the call there was no indication that she was distressed.
Danielle Harvey, a colleague who trained Morrow for the job, praised her for how she handled the situation.
“She took the entire call. She got up after it was over and went out. So I checked on her and told her to go see about her family,” Harvey said, according to Yahoo News.
Harvey is one of the 19 dispatchers nominated for the 2014 Smart Telecommunicator Award, that applauds the best 911 emergency responders.
The DeKalb County 911 call center has 12 operators who answer close to 3,000 calls per day, so it was pure coincidence that Morrow took the call about her father. What even more interesting is that she took it on her first day on the job.