FRANKLIN, Ind. (WTHR) - A Johnson County dispatcher is receiving national recognition for how she handled a 911 call that her boss says likely saved the lives of three people.
When you're a 911 dispatcher, you never know who's going to be on the other end of the line or why they're calling.
"Every call is different," said 25-year-old Johnson County Dispatcher Kaitlynn Rhude. "It sounds cliched, but I like helping people and I like a challenge."
That's just the position Rhude found herself in last December when a mom called for help.
"Her 18-year-old son was out of control. He was intoxicated," Rhude explained.
"He's 18 and just disrespectful and I don't know what to do with him," the mother can be heard saying on the call.
Rhude sent police to the house, but before they could get there, the situation escalated.
"You better put that knife down," you can hear the mother say to her son.
"That's when, you know, the little adrenaline rush you get as a dispatcher hit me and I was, like, 'I probably should stay on this phone a little bit longer and figure out what's going on with these two,' so I'm glad I did," Rhude said.
Rhude, who used to work in juvenile detention, asked to talk to the teen to try and calm him down.
"Can you just sit down and talk to me for a minute," Rhude told the 18-year-old.
"No, cause I'm about to do life," the teen told Rhude.
"No you're not. You're only 18," Rhude said to him. "I kind of reminded him, 'Hey you're only 18. You got your whole life ahead of you.'"
After several minutes, Rhude told the teen, "I feel like you've calmed down a little bit talking to me."
The teenager put down the knife and no one was hurt.
"Honestly, I think that's what helped. He just needed a different voice at the time," Rhude said.
Seconds later, police arrived and arrested the teen.
"You talk to people on the worst day of their life, so if I'm going to help somebody, I've gotta move on from one event and move on to the next one so I can help the next person," Rhude explained.
"Kailtynn, she's not one to do just what she needs to do. She's the one who thinks about, 'How can I make a difference?'" said Heath Brant, the executive director of Johnson County Dispatch.
That's why Rhude received national recognition last month for how she handled the call from the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials.
Awards aside, Rhude's just happy she could help a family who needed it.
"Each one of us could have gotten that call, but I think each of those calls go to us for a reason," she said.