Center's actions resulted in tragedy

This is a letter I never envisioned myself writing but, unfortunately, this is my reality.

I've spent several sleepless months pondering over the "what ifs" leading to my daughter's death. The incompetence and unprofessional actions displayed by the 911 Emergency Dispatch Center on that day are unthinkable coming from people with whom we are supposed to entrust our lives and the lives of our loved ones.

The day we needed our 911 dispatchers the most, they failed our sweet little Hannah.

While I was at work March 10, my daughter Hannah was being cared for at the home of a friend. Some time around 1 p.m., the caregiver checked on Hannah and found she was no longer breathing. She quickly picked her up and began administering CPR while another friend called 911.

The dispatcher on the phone that day lacked the necessary training to handle such a call. While Hannah's caregiver was attempting to administer CPR, the dispatcher was clearly unsure of the proper procedure. To her credit, she recognized this and pleaded for help from her supervisor.

On the recording of the 911 call, you can hear the dispatcher ask her supervisor to take over the call. The supervisor refused. Shortly after, another dispatcher is heard repeating the first request that she take over the call. The supervisor again refused.

I think of this daily and would like the girl who answered the call that day to know that I bear her no ill will.

On the other hand, I also think about that supervisor and her refusal to help. I don't understand how someone who accepted the responsibility of this job could be so negligent. This was dangerous incompetence.

In addition, the way Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood responded to my questions about the occurrences of that day leads me to doubt his integrity.

When I asked him about the 911 call, he looked right into my eyes — the eyes of a mother who had just lost her child — and assured me that the dispatch center supervisor had done all she could. He also assured me that the emergency medical technicians had been dispatched with adequate time for a full response. Both of these statements were untrue.

Despite all the mistakes made by the dispatching center that day, and without the wonderful response from Hannah's caregiver Carol Kuntzman and Big Sky Paramedics, we would not have had the opportunity to have her for two more days on life support.

My arms will forever ache to hold my child and I will forever be plagued with sleepless nights. This is a tragedy that has marked my friends, my family and myself and we will carry it with us for the rest of our lives.

This being said, I have only one question: How do the two of you sleep at night?

LISA SEWARD

Sandpoint