ATLANTA — Chanel Wood, a metro Atlanta mother, is counting her blessings after a 911 dispatcher helped her family save her life following a sudden heart attack.
Wood said she remembers little about the sudden health scare in her West Atlanta home. She simply recalled waking up in the hospital.
But the moment is carved in her four sons' memory. The boys called 911, checked for a pulse and anxiously listed as a Grady EMS dispatcher instructed Wood's husband over the phone how to perform CPR.
"That's what we're trained for," dispatcher Jessie Dennis explained. "We're trained to walk it through with them on the phone. It's definitely a moment. It becomes very intense."
It's rare, Dennis said, when they find out the outcome of the patients they're trying to help. But last Wednesday, Wood had a chance to say thank you to Dixon, who coached her husband, and the first responders who responded to the crisis.
"We get thousands of calls, and we never get a chance or opportunity to hug or have a conversation with anyone on the other side of the phone," he added. "So, this is a blessing."
Dennis said it's especially important to note Wood's husband was willing to try CPR, despite never having done it before, adding "It's easy for us to have a conversation. It's hard to do the work, and he did it until EMS got there."
Wood, too, is grateful her husband and boys were able to step in and take action.
She also shared her gratitude with the Grady team, adding "I'm just over overwhelmed and overjoyed."