The little girl’s voice on the 911 call was barely audible, her small voice cracking as the operator asked her what the emergency was.
“Ummmm. My dad won’t wake up.”
What unfolded over the next 14 minutes is a testament to the bravery of little Autumn Adams, and the professionalism of the 911 operator, Alisha Gresham, who happened to take that remarkable call.
In a recording of the call, Gresham calmly asks Autumn her address, her dad’s age and finally her own age.
“Six,” Autumn responds with a bit of bravery, her voice a bit clearer.
“What’s his name?” Alisha asks.
“Ummm... Dad,” Autumn responds, her voice faint.
Family Handout
Family Handout
Autumn then reveals that her dad’s name is Bryan, and tells Gresham her address. Gresham can be heard in the background confirming the name and address with other dispatchers.
It turns out that Autumn’s dad, Bryan, a diabetic, was unconscious due to low blood sugar. This has happened before and he said his family practiced what to do if it happened again.
“We actually practiced what to do if I ever would not wake up,” Bryan said. “She knows to call 911 from my phone, and I have our address on the calendar.”
Bryan said they even used a code word to signal to Autumn that he was doing OK. Since his illness causes him to become disoriented at times, the code word would be a way for Autumn to know he was OK. The code word is her birthday. If he couldn’t tell her that, she’d know something was wrong.
“If she asks me her birthday, and I don’t respond properly, she knows to get help,” Bryan said.
As the 911 call continues, Gresham then asks Autumn to unlock her front door and wait for help to arrive.
“Don’t worry, we’re sending everyone,” Gresham tells her.
Gresham asks if Autumn can see her dad breathing, which she initially says she can’t, then says yes, she can hear him breathing.
“I brought him honey,” Autumn says. It’s something her dad told her to bring if he doesn’t wake up, or becomes unresponsive.
However, Bryan says he didn’t know that Autumn knew his age, and doesn’t remember discussing getting him to eat honey.
“She must have talked to my mom about the honey,” Bryan said. “And when I woke up, there were like 10 emergency workers in the room and my face was covered with honey.”
Bryan was also curious why Autumn didn’t ask her 13-year-old sister for help. The sister was just upstairs. Regardless, her quick thinking and clear responses to the 911 operator meant that help was dispatched immediately to the right location.
In similar cases, low glucose levels, particularly in the range Bryan was experiencing, could have had a much more serious or even deadly outcome.
“She stayed so calm and did amazing,” Floyd County 911 Director Sommer Robinson said. “There aren’t many calls that we take where the caller is so calm and willing to help us, so we can help them.”
Bryan Adams agrees.
“I told her she was a hero,” he said. “I told her we were going to take her out for a hero dinner. She chose Rock N Roll Sushi. Which is funny, because I hate sushi, and her older sister doesn’t like it either. But she has her own taste I guess.”
Autumn certainly earned her sushi dinner.
Rome News-Tribune
Rome News-Tribune
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