iStock/Thinkstock(JESSUP, Pa.) — A couple forced to deliver their fourth child at home with the help of a 911 dispatcher on the line recently got to meet the woman they deemed their “real-life hero.”
On April 17, around 1 a.m., Tim Benedict of Jessup, Pennsylvania, called 911 to report that his wife, Arlee Benedict, was in labor. Their three children were asleep upstairs. He said he assumed that an ambulance would be on the way to take the couple to the hospital.
“It wasn’t till a couple of minutes later that I realized that nobody was coming — it was going to be me,” he told ABC affiliate WNEP-TV on Wednesday.
According to WNEP-TV, the ambulance closest to the Benedicts’ home had broken down.
As Arlee Benedict’s labor progressed, 911 dispatcher Katlynn Aulisio stayed on the phone and talked Tim Benedict through the delivery. It was Aulisio’s first time coaching a delivery over the phone.
“The baby’s out! The baby’s out!” Tim Benedict could be heard yelling on the 911 call. “She’s crying! … It’s a girl!”
“OK, good! Congratulations, number one,” Aulisio could be heard responding. “This is going to be a story to tell your friends.”
On Wednesday, the Benedicts and baby Felicity traveled to the Lackawanna County 911 Center in Jessup to meet Aulisio. Aulisio said the visit meant a lot to her because 911 dispatchers don’t often get to learn the outcomes of the calls they receive.
Tim Benedict told ABC News today that although the ordeal was “absolutely terrifying,” having Aulisio on the phone was exactly what he needed.
“It helped me to be able to take care of my girls and deliver my baby,” he said. “Honestly, meeting her yesterday was like meeting a real-life hero. … We are so thankful and very relieved.”
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