Listen: Girl Saves Mom's Life With Calm 911 Call

Chicago - In a life or death crisis, would you be able to stay calm and follow instructions? This is the story of a young girl who tried to do just that, with her mother's life possibly on the line.

At a time when many adults panic, Alex Burba kept her cool. "I don't know why I was so calm, but I was," Alex said.

When she first called 911, she said, "Hello, my name is Alexandra Burba. And my mom's been sleeping, and she's like really hot and earlier she was like really cold." The 13-year-old Grundy County girl had been watching her younger brother while her mom, who wasn't feeling well, decided to take a quick nap.

Her mother, Theresa Ritter, said, "I laid down with the electric heating blanket, and that's the last thing I remember."

By dinner time, she would not respond to the children's efforts to wake her up.

Alex's mother is divorced, and with no close friends or relatives living nearby, a Grundy County Sheriff's department communications specialist, Kay Elens, suddenly became the youngster's lifeline.

Elens said, "It’s always of course, heart-wrenching when there is a child involved. And just trying to get as much information from her, and keep her calm."

On the 911 tape, Elens said, "She won't wake up for you honey?" The girls said, “No.”

Knowing it could be a while before an ambulance reached the family's rural home, Elens began asking the youngster to check for any obvious signs of trouble.

On the 911 tape, Elens is heard asking, "Does she take any medicine that you know of?"

Alex answered, "Yeah, she takes some medicine."

As Alex struggled with the prescription names, a new fear emerged that Alex's mom might throw up and start choking. Elens told Alex to roll her mother onto her side. But Alex couldn't do it by herself.

On the 911 call, Elens is heard saying, "I know it's hard. Maybe if your brother helps you out a little bit."
So Alex got her younger brother Danny, who is autistic, to help. And the two of them pulled it off. Danny now says he did most of the work!

For thirteen minutes, Elens coached Alex over the phone, until finally, a sheriff's deputy reached the home.

Doctors eventually told Alex's mother that stress, combined with a sinus infection in her brain, probably caused her entire system to shut down. She said she has no memory of that afternoon, but recently she got to meet Kay Elens, and thank her for helping Alex and Danny through those 13 harrowing minutes.

Alex now offers advice for anyone calling 911.

She said, "Just try to remain as calm as you can be because it's only going to help you."

And her mother said, "I was very proud of my children. Saddened that they had to see me in that condition. But very, very proud that they took care of me."