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Emotional Reunion Held In Corona Between 911 Dispatcher And Couple Who Desperately Needed CPR

CORONA (CBSLA.com)  —   Elise Rodriguez, a 911 dispatcher, took a call several weeks ago from a woman who was hysterical when she found her 64-year-old husband on the floor.

Jeff Evans was in apparent cardiac arrest and his wife Carolyn didn't know what to do.

Saturday, Rodriguez got the chance to reunite with the Evans' for an emotional meeting.

CBS2's Tina Patel was there. She said there were few words between the three but there were lots of hugs and tears.

Rodriguez has been a dispatcher for the city of Corona for the past four years.

Carolyn didn't know CPR so Rodriguez talked her through it.  Carolyn credits Rodriguez for keeping her calm.

"She just perfectly walked me through it, and when I would start to get sidetracked and lose my emotions, she would bring me right back to keep doing those chest compressions," Carolyn says.

Rodriguez does not see herself as a hero. She told Patel what she did was rather routine. 911 dispatchers do the same thing every day.  She remained modest.

"I think it's something we're just trained to do, just follow our protocols," she said.

Paramedics arrived at the Evans home in just four minutes. But they said they noticed the difference those few minutes of CPR did

"His skin color was actually really good, usually they're blue or cyanotic. His skin color appeared to be really good," said Captain Chris Yoshioka of the Corona Fire Department.

Now that Jeff is out of the hospital and recovering, his wife thought it would be a good idea if they could meet and thank the people who saved him that day.

"I feel wonderful, thanks to all these people here. It's just amazing," Jeff said.

Rodriguez sayd she rarely gets to find out what happens when she finishes a call. She was glad to hear about the positive outcome of this one.

"That's why I picked this job. every day I feel like I hopefully did something to help somebody," she said.

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