911 Operator Helps Air Force Veteran and Her Husband Deliver Baby Over Phone: 'Very Special Moment'
"It definitely reignited just a sense of why I do the job, and my love for the job," said 911 operator Alyssa Eichholtz
A 911 operator from Indiana is being praised for helping a veteran and her husband deliver their baby over the phone.
Alyssa Eichholtz was working for the Hancock County 911 Center on Monday, Oct. 21, when a call came in from Nathan Weiss, whose wife Kelsey Weiss was actively in labor, according to CW affiliate WISH-TV.
Kelsey, a United States Air Force veteran, said she was planning to go to the hospital to deliver her son, but baby Zeke had other plans.
Nathan called 911 after the baby began to crown, and begged the operator to send help to their home in Greenfield.
But Zeke was not waiting, so Eichholtz coached Nathan and Kelsey through the delivery.
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“I was trying not to freak out,” Kelsey told WISH-TV. “There’s so much adrenaline that you’re just like, okay, he’s coming. Just keep pushing.”
Soon, Zeke was born. Eichholtz stayed on the line and coached the couple through the next steps of the delivery process.
“Dry the baby off with a clean towel, then wrap the baby in another clean dry towel,” Eichholtz said during the 911 call.
Nathan replied, “Okay, I will. He’s beautiful.”
One week later, Eichholtz got to meet the Weiss family, including baby Zeke. She also received a pin of a stork wearing a dispatcher’s headset to commemorate the special occasion.
Eichholtz told WISH-TV that helping the military family deliver their third child was a “surreal” and “very special moment for me.”
“We don’t get a lot of that type of positivity,” explained the operator, who has worked at the Hancock County 911 Center for four years. “It definitely reignited just a sense of why I do the job, and my love for the job.”
