Courtney Soffel, a 911 dispatcher in Tooele County, Utah was honored last week for saving a woman’s life during a call she took during the summer of 2012. Josh Hinckley called 911 in June of that year when his wife fell to the floor in horrible pain in the couple’s home. He exclaimed that he didn’t know what was happening to her and that he didn’t know what to do.
Soffel began calmly relaying detailed instructions to Hinckley for him to administer CPR to his wife. He did so for several minutes, essentially keeping her alive until first responders arrived at the scene.
According to Hinckley, ever since that day more than two years ago he has been trying to track down the woman who he credits with helping to save his wife’s life. He and his wife, Cali, finally got the opportunity to meet Soffel at a ceremony honoring her for the job she did that day.
As it turns out, Cali, who was 20 weeks pregnant at the time, had amniotic fluids in her bloodstream, which in most cases is a fatal condition. Soffel’s colleagues called for an AirMed helicopter which arrived quickly and took Cali to a hospital. She survived the incident but unfortunately the baby she was carrying died.
Josh and Cali are nevertheless grateful for the efforts of Soffel and her coworkers as well as the entire medical team that helped save her life.
As part of the ceremony, the couple got to meet Soffel who gave them a tour of the 911 dispatch facility including the station where Soffel took the call that day.
The International Academies of Emergency Dispatchers later presented Soffel and her colleague Yvonne Gale with a Meritorious Service Citation in recognition of their efforts. Both were also featured in Air Rescue Magazine, a leading rescue and air ambulance industry publication.