Midnight Rescue

When Katie Walker heard her 35-year-old husband, Andrew, strangely snoring around midnight one night in March 2024, she gave him a spouse’s loving smack to help him reposition as usual, but she felt something was different. Fearing he wasn’t breathing, she turned on the light and confirmed the nightmare was real. His eyes were open but “dead.”¹

Despite still being in training, Charlottesville-UVA-Albemarle ECC (Virginia, USA) Public Safety Communications Officer II Meaghan Willis felt prepared when she answered Katie’s 911 call.

“We quickly jumped into doing CPR,” Willis said. Though Katie knew how to perform CPR from training years prior,² Willis provided the focused reassurance she needed to do it, instructing her on Panel C-6: “Place the heel of your hand on the breastbone (in the center of the chest), right between the nipples. Put your other hand on top of that hand.”

For Willis, who had been a volunteer firefighter since age 15, this was her first experience coaching someone through CPR rather than performing it herself. Under the guidance of her supervisor and trainer, Camry Bennett, Willis followed the protocol “playbook” like a true professional, navigating through the Medical Priority Dispatch System^™ (MPDS^®) instructions with confidence.

With her two young children asleep in the next room, Katie had no one else to help; she listened to Willis’ steady voice on speakerphone: “Pump the chest hard and fast 30 times, at least twice per second and 2 inches deep” (Panel C-7). Katie relied on Willis to count the rhythm, ensuring she maintained the correct pace.

Willis compassionately encouraged Katie during the exhausting and emotional 10 minutes she worked on keeping her husband’s blood pumping. “[Willis] really buckled down while staying calm, cool, and collected for the caller,” Bennett said. “She got it done.”

With relief, a fire engine arrived from Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department, accompanied by two police cars and an ambulance, and Willis instructed Katie to stop CPR to quickly unlock the door and disable alarms to allow responders to take over.³

After disconnecting, Willis kept an eye on the status updates from fire dispatch. She was hopeful knowing they’d reported the return of spontaneous circulation of the patient after using an automated external defibrillator (AED) to shock Andrew’s heart back into rhythm (twice).⁴

Andrew was transported to UVA Health University Medical Center. Though survival after a sudden cardiac arrest was statistically unlikely outside of the hospital environment—a 90% fatality rate⁵—Andrew had a chance with immediate, effective CPR, defibrillation, and now critical hospital care focused on the remainder of his recovery.

The best news came nearly eight months later when Willis was invited to a celebration to honor those who had contributed to a life saved. Andrew had made a full recovery, for which he, his wife, and his small children could not be more grateful.

Willis was deeply humbled by the experience of meeting both Andrew and Katie as they thanked the full team involved in Andrew’s personal chain of survival.

“I was amazed to see everyone come together,” Willis said. “It was a huge village that each played a part for one life saved.”

After only one year as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher, it’s hard for Willis to describe the joy of meeting someone whose life has been impacted by her professional service, though she considers Katie to be the true hero. “Really, the big person for Andrew to thank in this situation is his wife,” she said.

Willis was also recognized by her center with a Lifesaver Award pin and certificate, which now serve as a reminder of how the little things can make a big impact. “We don’t often get to know the outcome of these calls,” Bennett said. “Knowing there was a positive outcome with a patient recovery makes it even more meaningful.”

Sources

1. Kelly, J. “He Died Twice in March. Now, He’ll Celebrate Christmas With His Family.” UVA Today. 2024; Dec. 19. https://news.virginia.edu/content/he-died-twice-march-now-hell-celebrate-christmas-his-family (accessed April 7, 2025).

2. See note 1.

3. See note 1.

4. See note 1. 

5. Newman, M. M. “Latest Statistics.” Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. https://www.sca-aware.org/about-sudden-cardiac-arrest/latest-statistics (accessed April 7, 2025).