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Tonya Papanikolas Reporting A three-year old West Jordan girl shocked everyone around her by calling 9-1-1 after her mother fell down.
Tonya Ostrander had a stroke in November and already had a hard time getting around. Yesterday she fell down and couldn't get back up. She didn't think anyone would be able to help her since her three-year-old daughter was the only other person home, but her daughter surprised her.
Three-year-old Chehala Moore knew exactly what to do when her mom fell down in the bathroom yesterday.
Chehala Moore: "I just called 9-9-1."
She might not know how to say it, but she knew how to dial 9-1-1 when the need arose.
Chehala Moore: "My mommy just fall down in the bathroom. She fell down in the bathroom? Yes. Hurry, come and help her."
Liz Young was the dispatcher who took the call.
Liz Young, Dispatcher: "She did so good. She was so cooperative. She knew her mom was hurt, she knew her mom needed help."
Chehala talked to the dispatcher for awhile and then gave the phone to her mom.
Tonya Ostrander: "I'm going black."
Liz Young: "Does your child know how to open the door?"
Tony Ostrander: "No."
But Chehala figured out how to open the back sliding door by taking out the stick that jarred it. That's where Chehala met the paramedics.
Tonya Ostrander: "It was amazing all the way around."
Chehala's mom says she didn't know her daughter even knew how to call 9-1-1, but she's glad she learned somehow.
Tonya Ostrander: "She's my little hero. I'm very proud of her."
Chehala is just happy her mom is okay.
Chehala: "I was helping mommy."
Tonya pulled some muscles and got a hip contusion, but she is going to be alright. She thinks her daughter may have learned 9-1-1 from watching TV.
This case illustrates how important it is to teach even young children how to use 9-1-1 during an emergency.
Here are some tips to Stay Safe:
- Teach the number as 9-1-1 not 9/11.
- Teach kids what is an emergency? It's estimated in some cities that 75-percent of all calls made to 911 are non-emergency calls.
- And make sure your children know their address, especially as more families move from landlines to cellphones.
