Dispatcher talks 10-year-old through CPR to save mom
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A 10-year-old girl walked into her living room to see the unthinkable: her mom not breathing. The steps she took in the next few minutes saved her mom’s life.
First responders say the minutes after someone stops breathing are crucial. That is when CPR comes into play.
Haley McKinney called 911, and the dispatcher who answered, Kris Mayfield, walked her through how to do compressions.
The girl’s panic was evident the moment Mayfield picked up McKinney’s call, which happened on Feb. 11 inside McKinney’s home in the 2200 block of South Burke Street.
“My mommy’s not breathing! My mommy’s not breathing! My mommy’s not breathing,” McKinney can be heard saying on the recording of the 911 call.
“Worst day of my life,” McKinney said to News 8 on Friday.
Mayfield said in her four years as a dispatcher, she has not often coached a child through CPR.
“You don’t know what it looks like on the other side of that phone. All you have is the voice,” she said.
On the call, Mayfield told McKinney she would have to do compressions. McKinney said she didn’t know how, so Mayfield walked her through how to properly perform CPR. The girl listened.
The 10-year-old was the only one home, so her mom’s life was in two small hands of her fifth-grader.
“It was really scary. I was thinking, ‘Please wake up! I don’t know what to do,’” she recalled.
For a couple minutes, McKinney did compressions, with the coaching and encouragement of Mayfield on the other end of the phone. At one point, McKinney said the compressions were not working, her voice and fear rising.
Mayfield reassured her the CPR would take time and to keep working.
McKinney’s father got home from work during the 911 call. He then spoke with Mayfield while doing the compressions.
About seven minutes into the call, first responders arrived.
“We don’t know what happens afterwards. We don’t know. They get transported to a hospital and we never know” unless the news reports it, Mayfield said.
Indianapolis Fire Department reached out to News 8 about the 911 call because McKinney’s mom made it to the hospital and is starting to recover. Her family noted she still has a long road ahead of her.
First responders said without Mayfield and McKinney’s quick actions on the 911 call, it could have been a different story.
Friday, McKinney went to the dispatch center where Mayfield works, and the pair met.
“You did such a great job with me on the phone,” Mayfield continued.
Mayfield had a gift for McKinney: The pin Mayfield received after the first time she helped save someone with CPR as a dispatcher.
“I want to give this to you. Because you were the real hero and you helped in that process,” she said, handing over the pin.
It’s a call neither will ever forget, and now they have a friendship beginning to blossom.
“Can I have a hug?” Mayfield asked McKinney.
“Of course,” the 10-year-old said.
“I’m so proud of you, Haley,” said Mayfield, as the pair embraced.