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Fire rescue district honors girl who kept cool during 911 call

Fourth-grader's stepfather suffered seizure

Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 25, 2007 at midnight

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NORTHGLENN - Nine-year- old Courtney Babcock called 911 last November when her stepfather suffered a seizure.

Her mother, Gloria Babcock, was home at the time and Courtney passed the phone to her when she got through to a dispatcher.

But when Courtney's stepdad, Richard Wilcox, slipped on a rug March 26, collapsed and suffered another seizure, the fourth-grader was on her own because her mother was at work.

Courtney, though, felt that as long as she could reach a 911 dispatcher, her prayers would be answered.

"I thought, 'Oh my God, I hope Richard is going to be OK,' " she recalled Monday following a ceremony honoring her quick actions to save her stepfather. "But when I called 911 I knew that he was going to be much better because I knew that the fire department was going to take care of people."

Firefighters and paramedics arrived quickly and took care of Courtney's stepfather.

In fact, the North Metro Fire Rescue District personnel who responded felt that Courtney had the more stressful job of keeping her composure while her stepfather shook violently just a few feet away.

In recognition of that, the district on Tuesday presented Courtney with a 911 Hero Award plaque "for her quick actions and proper use of the 911 emergency system in rendering aid to a person during his time of need."

Courtney's mother; biological father, Kenneth Babcock; aunt, Trina Duran; and a handful of administrators from the girl's Westview Elementary School looked on smiling during the ceremony.

Also congratulated by the fire district was the Adams County emergency dispatcher who took Courtney's call and helped keep her calm.

Tuesday was the first time Shauna Heywood-Allyn and Courtney had talked since the youngster dialed 911. The two shook hands inside the garage of the fire district's headquarters.

"I think I was more nervous than you," Heywood-Allyn told Courtney, recalling her conversation with the youngster. "She was calm, especially for a 9-year-old."

Heywood-Allyn said it is rare to receive 911 calls from children. She gets maybe five a year, she said.

Courtney has known how to dial 911 since her mom taught her how to punch in the number in case of an emergency when she was 5.

When her stepdad fell last month, she raced to the phone as Wilcox struggled on the kitchen floor. Then both Heywood-Allyn and Courtney went to work to save Wilcox.

"She said, 'OK, Courtney, everything's going to be all right,' " the youngster said.

The dispatcher told the girl to put her phone down and go over to her stepfather and place her head on his chest to see if he was still breathing.

Courtney said she went to her stepdad and pressed her hands on his chest, instead.

A slight miscommunication.

It didn't matter. He was breathing, because when Courtney asked, "Do you know who I am?" he answered.

"He said, 'Who are you?' " Courtney said. "He wasn't talking that good."

But he was talking.