LACOMBE, La. (KPLC) – Dispatchers are the first point of contact in an emergency, and a Louisiana woman learned firsthand how their work can save lives.

A Tammany Parish 911 dispatcher’s voice became a lifeline, guiding a caller through saving her mother-in-law’s life, WDSU reports.

Diana Burkhart of LaCombe called 911 last month when her mother-in-law began choking.

“And I saw that he was choking. And I got on the phone with my husband and I started yelling, you know, like, ‘Oh my God, you know, call somebody,'” Burkhart said.

Burkhart tried to get the food down his throat and even tried the Heimlich maneuver.

“Her lips started turning blue and she started collapsing,” she said.

Burkhart didn’t know how to help her, but 911 dispatcher Albert Evans, who has worked at the LaCombe dispatch center for five years, explained what she needed to do.

“He just walked me through it. I’ve never taken a CPR class. I never did anything,” Burkhart said.

She performed CPR and her mother-in-law started breathing again before first responders arrived. She was then flown to a hospital and released a few days later.

Burkhart visited the dispatch center to hug Evans and thank him for his help.

Evans said it’s rare for him to know the outcome of an emergency call, but this time he knows for a fact that his instructions saved a life.

“A lot of times you have to hope that your instructions made a difference,” he said.

Evans said every second counts during an emergency, and letting a dispatcher know your location as soon as you’re connected can mean the difference between life and death.

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