Aurora firefighters, 911 dispatcher help grandmother save 8-year-old girl
Emergency dispatchers are on the receiving end of the worst days of people's lives. They rarely know what happens after that call ends, let alone get to meet them. In Aurora -- a city of over 400,000 people -- one call, one voice, and one grandmother's love made all the difference.
When 8-year-old Gloria collapsed, her grandmother didn't panic; she acted.
Charisse Huggins immediately began CPR while on the phone with Aurora911. What unfolded over the next few minutes was nothing short of a miracle.
"I started compressions right then and there," said Charisse. "I didn't think. I just did what I had to do."
Gloria received her new heart just shy of her first birthday. That morning in January, she had no symptoms before collapsing.
She simply sat up in bed and said, "Meemaw, my head hurts."
Moments later, she fell backward.
Gloria's cardiac arrest lasted nearly an hour. Against all odds, she survived.
It's a call Aurora 911 dispatcher Rosie Deichsel won't forget.
"Charisse was calm, unbelievably calm," Deichsel said about Huggins. "I like being on the other side of the phone, you know, that's where I belong."
Charisse, who had cared for Gloria since birth, knew CPR from years of navigating her granddaughter's complex medical needs. But even for her, the weight of the moment was overwhelming.
"You're never really prepared," she admitted. "But there was a soft voice on the other end of the phone. Deichsel kept me grounded. She kept me going."
Deichsel says dispatchers rarely get to meet the people they help, but this reunion was unforgettable.
"This is one of those calls I'll carry with me forever," she said. "We don't always get happy endings. But this one? This one was special."
First responders from Aurora Fire Rescue arrived within minutes, taking over resuscitation and transporting Gloria to Children's Hospital Colorado. She lost her pulse again en route, requiring CPR to resume.
Gloria was twice placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a specialized form of life support for both the heart and lungs. Doctors estimated her chance of survival at less than 4%. She was on life support for two weeks. She fought her way back.
The family was able to thank the team who helped save her life in person.
Phoenix Awards are joint recognitions presented by public safety agencies to honor the team members directly involved in saving the life of a citizen who is ultimately discharged from the hospital neurologically intact.
"This award is about the system," said AFR leadership during the Phoenix Award ceremony. "From the 911 call to the hospital doors, every link in the chain matters."
Aurora firefighters and a 911 dispatcher pose with a family after helping a grandmother save her 8-year-old granddaughter's life.
CBS
Charisse now urges all parents and caregivers -- especially grandparents -- to learn CPR.
"This is a great day," she said. "You didn't just save a child. You gave my granddaughter her future back."
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