Indy man meets call center worker who saved his life

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Quick action by an operator hundreds of miles away saved the life of an Indianapolis man. And Tuesday, the two had a chance to meet.

It was a rare opportunity for a man to put a face with the voice that saved him, and for her to see how she made a difference.

Walter Borders, 84, Indianapolis met Debbie Scoggins, Kansas City, on Tuesday outside his south side home.

"I wouldn't have gotten up and called 911,” he said. “I was laying there, sitting in the chair. Boom,"

"Just glad that we were there for you," Scoggins said as the two hugged.

"Glad you were too," Borders replied.

Scoggins helped save Borders’ life from the ADT Kansas City Customer Monitoring Center. It was just after 5 a.m. on May 16 - less than 48 hours after Borders had gotten a home health call button installed in his house, where he lived alone after his wife of nearly 62 years died in January.

Karen Barker, Borders’ daughter, remembered that morning when she got the call.

"I was in bed, sleeping. The phone rang. They said it was ADT, they just had an alert from my dad," she said.

Scoggins’ call to Indianapolis Fire Department EMS and medics’ fast action saved Borders’ life.

"Then they just told us it was really, really serious,” Barker recalled. “They had lost him once in the ambulance and several times in the hospital."

But two and a half weeks later, Borders is doing well. And Scoggins is honored to have played a part in saving his life while doing her job.

"I'm ecstatic. I'm ecstatic. I'm glad you saved my life," Borders said, hugging Scoggins again.

Scoggins and members of the IFD EMS team that saved Borders’ life were all honored Tuesday.