911 dispatcher recalls helping Lincoln man save his girlfriend’s life with CPR

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A 911 dispatcher is being recognized for helping save the life of a Lincoln woman as she suffered a heart attack.

Chelsea Walz, 32, noticed that her left arm felt strange one night.

She told her boyfriend, Jake Miller, what was going on.

In a matter of minutes, her heart was racing, and Miller leaned down to listen.

“I was listening to her heartbeat and then all of a sudden, I realized I didn’t hear it anymore,” Miller said. “I looked up, and she was unconscious.”

Walz was having a rare type of heart attack.

Miller called 911.

Kathryn Jacobs was the dispatcher who answered.

Once she realized how serious the situation was, Jacobs began to talk Miller through chest compressions.

“Pretty much anytime I have to start CPR, my adrenaline starts pumping just as much as their does, but I have to remember that this is not my emergency,” Jacobs said. “I just need to stay calm and walk them through it.”

Jacobs has only been a dispatcher for four months, but she’s saving lives often, like Walz’s.

She counted compressions for Miller for around six minutes – a long time for someone to perform CPR.

After Walz was able to return home from the hospital, Channel 8 interviewed her and Miller.

Miller said Jacobs helped him count “1, 2, 3, 4” to save his girlfriend’s life.

“I can still hear her voice saying that,” he said.

Jacobs could recall that moment just as well.

“When I watched his interview, and I heard him say, ‘I can still hear her voice,’ to me, I can still remember watching the metronome click, click, click,” she said. “I was just trying to time it with that click every time.”

The Lincoln Police Department recognized Jacobs for helping to save a life.

She said that’s why she chose this job.

“It makes me feel good about what I’m doing to know that I’m helping someone because that’s what I wanted to be able to do here,” she said. “I wanted to help those in their biggest moment of need.”