What started out as a family slumber party turned into an emergency situation, with a quick thinking and resourceful 9-year-old Kansas girl jumping into action.
Isabelle Soubie’s calm demeanor and emergency training was recognized Thursday, when she was given a “911 Hero Award” certificate and medallion.
In June, Isabelle’s grandfather, Bob Sobczak, passed out on the floor of his house after an apparent diabetic incident. She had to figure out how to use a cell phone to call for help.
“I couldn’t unlock it so I clicked emergency and called 911,” Isabelle told CNN affiliate KMBC.
During the call to Overland Park dispatchers, she’s asked “Is he responding to you? Is he able to talk to you?”
Isabelle responds “Yeah, he’s saying weird stuff. I tried to get him to take his sugar and eat food but he wouldn’t.”
When dispatchers asked her for a location, the quick thinking kid was able to use an address on an envelope to direct emergency crews to her grandfather’s house.
Her lifesaving efforts, taught by her family, paid off.
“She did her thing, and I’m grateful for that…because I could have died in that instant,” Sobczak told the affiliate.
In another remarkable decision, Isabelle sat on nearby stairs to stay out of the way of paramedics and to make sure her baby brother wouldn’t wake up.
“I couldn’t even imagine it, but I have learned to love her more now. I thought it was immeasurable and now it’s more,” Sobczak says.
The voice on the other end of the line, dispatcher Josh Lynch, says he was amazed at the girl’s disposition and acknowledged that Isabelle “was very calm” in a scary situation.
Lynch says it’s important to teach children about 911 calls, because he says when it’s time to use the service they should not be afraid.
