Practice Makes Perfect

Nine-year-old stays calm during 911 call for mom.

Isaac Rosner is surrounded by people celebrating his recognition for the 911 call that saved his mother.

Vicky Roser didn't skip a beat when naming the people central to saving her life: son Isaac, school volunteer Paul Nicholson, dispatcher Jenelle Miller and the emergency responders arriving at the family's front door– in that order.
In March 2010, nine-year-old Isaac came home from school shortly before his mother slipped to the floor unconscious.
"I passed out." said Vicky, who several days earlier had knee surgery to repair a dislocated patella. "I think my blood pressure what's dropping."
Low blood pressure is nothing new for Vicky, who has chronic condition that causes her blood pressure to drop suddenly. Isaac called 911, something he learned how to do in school from Nicholson, a volunteer whose goal is to educated kindergarten through second grade students in Humboldt County California about 911.
"He said that his mother wasn't feeling well..."
-Eureka Police Dispatcher 
"He said that his mother wasn't feeling well and she had surgery on her knee," said Miller, a Eureka (Calif.) Police Department senior communications dispatcher.
Miller talk to Isaac for the next six minutes.  She remembered Isaac's calmness and his ability to provide information, including address, his name, his mother's name and the name of the company where is dad, Lee worked. He said his mom was having difficulty breathing and was taking medication for the pain from the surgery.
Responders were already on the scene when Vicky gained consciousness. Isaac was getting in the front seat of the ambulance when Lee arrived home.
Vicky has since recovered and has nothing but praise for her son. She also credits Nicholson, who as part of his 911 education brings the 911 simulator to classrooms.
"He (Isaac) actually held it together very well," Vicki said. "Having done it (using the simulator) he was much calmer than I would have guessed he would be."
And Vicky's not the only one impressed by Isaac's actions.
Miller said he quickly followed instructions such as unlocking the front door and understood the terminology she used without needing questions in the Medical Priority Dispatch System to be simplified.
"It was really refreshing to deal with someone that articulate especially at a young age." 
"He did such a great job," Miller said. "It was really refreshing to deal with someone that articulate especially at a young age."
Nicholson nominated Isaac for an award from 911 for Kids, a National 911 organization for kids, which he received in May 2010.
"This is the day I've been waiting for," Nicholson told Vicky after hearing about Isaac's actions.
Isaac was also recognized by the Humboldt County chapter of the American Red Cross in February 2011.
"He understands that he did a cool thing," Vicki said. "I'm just glad that he's got that (calling 911) down pat."
This article originally appeared in The Journal National Emergency Dispatch (NAED), Dec. 2011

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