'She's Shaking and She's Having a Baby': Girl, 4, Hailed as Hero for 911 Call

Calise Manning will have a great story to tell her baby brother, who was born healthy Friday after the little girl called 911 while her mother, Centerria, was having a seizure. (Screenshot: WWMT-TV video)

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At 4, Calise Manning followed exactly the drill her mother had taught her to practice in an emergency: Don’t panic and remain calm.

Unruffled, she punched the three numbers – 9-1-1 – into the phone Wednesday

“She’s shaking and she’s having a baby,” Calise told a Kalamazoo dispatcher in 911 audio obtained by WWMT-TV. “My mom is really pregnant and she’s having a boy and she really needs help.”

Indeed, the girl’s mother, Centerria, was “really pregnant” – nine months – and the shaking her young daughter described was from a seizure she suffered Wednesday. Because Centerria is epileptic, she had taught her daughter since the age of 2 not only to remain calm and dial 911, but also “the address and my full name and things like that.”

The dispatcher kept Calise remain composed during the 7½ minute call, asking the young girl how old she was.

“Four,” she responded, adding: “... and I’m almost getting bigger.”

The dispatcher who talked to Calise until emergency responders could arrive told WWMT she plans to nominate the girl for an award for remaining calm in a frightening situation

“I was so proud of her,” Centerria said of her daughter. “She was like, ‘I told you I was gonna take care of you if something happened.’ “

Calise will have a great story to tell her little brother, TJ, who was born Friday morning at Borgess Medical Center’s Family Birthing Center in Kalamazoo. He weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and everyone is doing fine, according to The Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive.

“He’s cute and I really love him,” Calise said.

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