“This young man here is amazing,” he said after his grandson was honored by Fairfield City Council earlier this week. “If he hadn’t been there, I would be dead right now. He helped give me the strength that I needed. He kept telling me hang in there, grandpa, hang in there, grandpa. I did exactly as he said.”
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Macbeth was watching YouTube videos inside his house on River Road when he heard a loud yell. He looked outside and saw his 66-year-old grandfather was on the ground blood visible. His grandfather fell after he lost his footing on an unlevel part of his driveway, where asphalt meets concrete.
He raced to help called 911 and talked with dispatcher Amanda Robinette .
“It was just another 911 call,” she said. “He said his grandpa had fallen and I walked him through our program to help with medical calls.”
Robinette told him how to stop the bleeding, and Macbeth said blood “was all over the ground.” Near the end of the call, Macbeth told his grandfather, “Keep talking to me, please.”
Hassler responded, “You’re doing a good job, buddy.”
“He did a great job. He did fantastic,” Robinette said of Macbeth. “He was actually more calm than some adult callers we get, so he did a really great job.”
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Hassler received four stitches and four staples, and stayed overnight at Mercy Health-Fairfield.
Macbeth and Robinette were honored Monday evening at Fairfield City Council for the call, which was flagged during a regular quality assurance review of 911 calls.
Robinette, an 11-year dispatch veteran, said dispatchers try to do the same thing for a child caller as they would an adult caller, “but we’ll modify if they have trouble understanding what we’re asking.”
She said they have to ensure they get the same information they would ask from any other caller, but she said it’s important to make sure they feel comfortable during the call.
“We talk to people usually when it’s the worst day; they’re having the worst day that they could possibly have and we try to be there for them, keep them calm and let them know we’re sending help as quick as we can,” she said.
Macbeth said what kept him calm: “I just thought that God is here with me, and I’d help my grandpa through this.”
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