911 What is your emergency?

Caller: I am calling because a woman was just injured at the café I am sitting in and she might need medical assistance.

Operator: What is the emergency?

Caller: We were sitting outside at tables with umbrellas overhead, and it became a bit windy. The wind blew over one of the umbrellas and it hit an elderly lady on the head. She does not look good.

Operator: What? Why would someone hit an old lady on the head with an umbrella?

Caller: No. You don’t understand. Picture a patio with a table and chairs. Now picture a table with chairs, the table has a hole in the middle of it. A giant umbrella is placed in the hole in table in order to provide shade for those who sit at that table.

Operator: Oh I see. Now are you saying someone took that table umbrella out of the hole and hit the lady on the head?

Caller: (exasperated now) No! The WIND blew the umbrella over and the umbrella hit the lady on the head!

Operator: Hold on. You have the wrong department.

New Operator: 911 What is your emergency?

Caller: Sigh… We were sitting outside at tables with umbrellas overhead, and it became a bit windy. The wind blew over one of the umbrellas and it hit an elderly lady on the head. She does not look good.

Operator: Okay, is she conscious?

Caller: Yes, but not responding verbally.

Operator: We are sending someone over.

Caller: Thank you!

Paramedics arrive and sit at the table with the injured elderly lady. They question her and assess her injury. After 20 minutes, they decide she will be fine and move to leave. The caller at the café asks one of the paramedics about calling 911. “Why was it so difficult to get help for this lady”? Paramedic tells the caller it is because the caller used her cell phone. Anytime there is a 911 call from a cell phone it is automatically directed to Highway Patrol as it is thought to be a traffic incident. Once they determine that it's not related to traffic, they re-route the call to regular operators.

Make a note to yourself…Calling for help that is not traffic related from a cell will delay your response time. In the meantime, pray that you will never need to make that call...