911: A Thankful Heart

By all accounts, Dan Ingram shouldn't be here.

"It wasn't good. I flat-lined five times," says Ingram. "I credit the doctors and that 911 call for the reason I'm still here."

It was close to midnight on Aug. 21, and both Ingram and his wife, Mary, were sleeping. She heard a strange noise, turned on the lights, and knew right away something was wrong.

"It was terrifying," she tells us. "You don't realize how hard it is to function when you're in pure panic mode. It took me three times to dial 911 right."

When she did, call taker Alicia Reid was on the other end of the line. Reid immediately heard the panic in Mary's voice and was able to provide a calm lifeline, if you will.

"We made a connection, a bond, in a bad situation," explains Reid. "She trusted me."

Reid walked Ingram through CPR steps until paramedics arrived and transported Ingram, who'd been having a heart attack, to the hospital.

Now, a month later, the Raleigh couple wanted to meet and thank Reid in person.

"I'm eternally grateful," Mary tells us. "She kept me focused in the scariest moment of my life."

Reid has been a call taker for two years at the Raleigh-Wake 911 Center. She tells us helping people is why she does what she does.

"I like to be the voice they can trust when they need help," says Reid.

As for Dan, he is thankful he and his wife can now celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary. He's well aware things could have turned out differently.

"I know this is a job for her," says Ingram. "But, to us, she is the reason I'm still here."

The center handles about 800,000 emergency calls every year.