Triple zero hero
Antoinette has helped save lives and deliver babies over the phone Antoinette Ware, 29, Melbourne, Vic
My heart stood still as the Triple-0 call was played on the news. ‘My mum’s been hit by a truck,’ a little boy told the operator, terrified.
The thought of my girl, Willow, then three, or my stepdaughters, Kyralee,
13, and Sianne, nine, being left without parents was unthinkable.
It was a horrifying situation but, calm and professional, the call taker took control.
Knowing exactly what questions to ask, she soothed the little boy and coaxed the full story out of him.
It turns out that the boy’s mother had suffered a stroke at home.
Playing with his toy truck at the time she had fallen, he’d accidentally driven it into her!
Since having Willow, I’d been a stay-at-homemum.
But maybe this is a job I could do, I thought.
Searching online, I saw a Triple-0 operator role that was being advertised, so I applied and got it.
It was meant to be!
The training was intense, but it prepared me for every possible scenario.
Still, some calls were harder to take than others.
Incidents involving kids shook me the most. Answering a call from a bereaved parent whose little one had died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) was my darkest day.
The floor where I work is usually abuzz with chatter. But when one of us is on a call that is
particularly difficult, it quietens down.
And whoever is closest and free will stand behind you, sometimes putting a hand on your shoulder. Deep breaths, you’ve got this! I remind myself when I’m confronted with a hysterically screaming caller.
Using my best ‘mum voice’ – firm but soothing
– I ask them to explain exactly what’s happened, then tell them what to do step-by-step.
Amazingly, I’ve even helped two proud dads deliver their babies over the phone!
Sometimes, we have a little joke with the person on the other end of the line, too.
One day, an older gentleman called, shyly explaining that he’d been bleeding from his rectum.
I notified the ambulance and as he waited he told me
Some people thank me – it’s humbling and means the
world
about his health woes.
‘I hope they get to the bottom of it for you,’ I said, realising what I’d done the moment the words had left my mouth.
‘Oh good one!’ he hooted. I was mortified, but luckily he had a great sense of humour!
I’ve been in the job for two years now and I haven’t had the chance to meet any of the people I’ve helped yet, but I have had some get in touch to thank me.
It’s humbling and it means the world.
I also appeared on the Channel Seven show, Emergency Call.
Now five, my girl Willow, was excited to see me on TV.
She knows how to call Triple-0. Hilariously, she thinks I am an ambulance.
‘There you are, Mum!’ she says, when we hear the siren and see one zoom past.
As long as Willow knows what to do in an emergency, I’m fine with that!
It’s a big call, but I honestly think I have one of the best jobs around.