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Five-year-old's 911 call brings help for mom

RCMP audio of the Rebekah Simpson's 911 call A five-year-old West Shore girl is being hailed as a hero after she called 911 Wednesday morning when her mother suffered an epileptic seizure.
Cindy E. Harnett

RCMP audio of the Rebekah Simpson's 911 call

A five-year-old West Shore girl is being hailed as a hero after she called 911 Wednesday morning when her mother suffered an epileptic seizure.On a recording released by police, Rebekah Simpson, 5, is heard saying in a quavering voice: “My mommy fell down in the backyard and she wouldn’t get up.”With prompting from dispatcher Chelsea Chang, the girl explained that her two brothers — Joshua, 3, and Caelan, 16 months — were in the backyard with their mother, that her dad was at work, and that her mom was not bleeding but wouldn’t wake up.Rebekah asked: “You think you can come here?” Chang reassured Rebekah that help was “coming fast.” Emergency services responded and found that Olena Simpson, 31, of Langford, had had a seizure. The last thing she remembered was being outside.“The five-year-old girl was understandably highly distraught,” said West Shore RCMP Cpl. Antonio M. Hernandez. “The three-year-old boy was excited to see firefighters.” A small, hard-sided pool, half-full of water, was in the family’s backyard.“Had emergency services not been called, the possibility exists that a water-related tragedy could have also occurred,” Hernandez said.Simpson’s epilepsy, a disorder she has had since age 12, is typically controlled by medication, but that regime was disrupted when the family arrived home past midnight on Tuesday, said husband Wade Simpson, 33.Olena Simpson was treated and was home resting Wednesday afternoon. She suffered only a few scrapes.The relieved father said he was simultaneously “shocked, amazed and extremely proud” of his first-born, who said she learned how to call 911 from her great-grandfather, Allan Alexander. “You tell her these things and hope it sticks. She didn’t freeze, she controlled her fear and she knew exactly what to do.”While Rebekah knew to call the emergency number, she wasn’t clear on what that “actually does,” said Wade Simpson. Now she knows.West Shore RCMP recognized Rebekah “for a job well done,” giving her a teddy bear and small gifts.“The young girl is to be commended for her ability to call 911 and to provide important information so emergency personnel [could] attend and provide medical attention to her mother,” Hernandez said.West Shore RCMP also praised Chang for calming Rebekah, while obtaining vital information.“Our dispatcher kept this very upset young girl on the phone, gleaning as much information from her as possible,” Hernandez said.  “This call was high risk and emotionally difficult for this young girl, who needed to hear a friendly, calming and compassionate voice on the phone.”The police said the case is an example of the importance of teaching children how to dial 911 when [email protected]

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Audio transcript from RCMP:Dispatcher: 911. Do you require police, fire or ambulence? Hello?Rebecca: My mommy fell down in the backyard and she wouldn't get up.Dispatcher: Ok, hold on a second. I need you to calm down. What did you say, your mom what?Rebecca: She fell down on the cement in the backyard and she wouldn't get up.Dispatcher: Is she up now, or no?Rebecca: No she's not up.Dispatcher: She's not up?Rebecca: NoDispatcher: Ok. How old are you hon?Rebecca: ---Dispatcher: Fourteen?Rebecca: No, I'm five.Dispatcher: You're five. Is there anyone else home?Rebecca: Only...and my other brother is one and one more brother is three.Dispatcher: Ok, is it just your mom, she's the only adult home?Rebecca: My daddy's at work.Dispatcher: Ok, so it's just your mom. Can you see your mom right now? Hello? Hello?Rebecca: What did you say?Dispatcher: Is your mom still asleep?Rebecca: Yes.Dispatcher: So, she's the one that fell right?Rebecca: Yeah.Dispatcher: So she's on the pavement outside?Rebecca: Yeah.Dispatcher: In the backyard?Rebecca: She's not bleeding.Dispatcher: Ok, but is she awake?Rebecca: No.Dispatcher: So she fell down, and she hasn't gotten up?Rebecca: No.Dispatcher: Ok. And how many brothers and sisters do you have?Rebecca: I have two brothers.Dispatcher: Ok, are they both there with you?Rebecca: Yeah.Dispatcher: But there's no blood.Rebecca: No, no blood on my mom. And she fell down.Dispatcher: Ok, so have you tried to wake her up?Rebecca: Yeah, but she wouldn't wake up.Dispatcher: Ok, and she's still in the backyard, right?Rebecca: Yeah. You think you can come here?Dispatcher: We're coming and we're gonna be coming fast. What's your name?Rebecca: Rebecca.Dispatcher: Rebecca, hang on a second, Rebecca, stay on the phone.