Couple Meets 911 Operator Who Helped Save Man's Life For First Time
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It rarely happens, but today, a 911 dispatcher got the chance to meet a man in person he helped save--over the phone.
Scott Rinn is the emergency medical dispatcher who gave instructions to a panicked woman as she performed CPR on her boyfriend.
The two recently met face to face for the first time.
"She beat herself up for weeks; 'I didn't do anything right,'" Clemons said. "I said obviously you did everything right."
In March of 2016, Creighton Clemons went into cardiac arrest on the floor of his home in Crystal that he shares with his long-time love, Wendy Senescall.
"Help is on the way," Rinn says on the audiotape of Senescall's 911 call. "Listen carefully, I will tell you how to do chest compressions. Get him on the floor, lay him flat on his back."
Rinn stayed on the phone with Wendy until an ambulance from North Memorial Health arrived.
"It's not every day we get to meet someone who we have saved," Rinn said.
All three received awards Thursday.
"You have to calm them down for them to be able to listen to you so you can help them, lowering your voice when they are screaming," Rinn said.
Clemons and Senescall are now spreading the word about the importance of CPR training, and the value of 911 dispatchers.
When asked why Senescall wanted to meet Rinn, she said it was because she wanted to say "thank you."
"He helped me save him," Senescall said. "And to say I'm sorry because I don't think I listened very well."
Clemons added, "They don't get the opportunity to see the rewards of their work, to be able to appreciate that they do save lives. They know they do, but on a personal level, to be able to rejoice in that a little bit."
