INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — In October, a Hancock County 911 dispatcher played a vital role in helping a veteran and her husband deliver their baby, over the phone.

News 8 obtained the audio that depicts the moment baby Zeke Weiss was brought into the world on Oct. 21.

It also includes the moment first responders arrived at his parents’ Greenfield home to help with the delivery.

Shining through the chaos of that day was the calm and direct instructions of Alyssa Eichholtz, a 911 operator and 2nd shift supervisor. She’s worked at the Hancock County 911 Center for the last four years.

Every day she puts on her headset is different.

“It’s a lot of people’s bad days, a lot of people’s sad days,” Eichholtz said. “We’re having to navigate what that person on the other end of the phone — what information they’re giving us and the stress or anxiety that they may be presented with.”

On that afternoon, Eichholtz picked up a call that would mark a first in her seven-year career. She helped Kelsey Weiss deliver her third baby.

“I was trying not to freak out,” Kelsey said. “There’s so much adrenaline that you’re just like, okay, he’s coming. Just keep pushing.”

The Air Force veteran already planned to go through the labor at home, then go to the hospital when Zeke was ready — that’s what they did with their last child. 

However, her husband, Nathan Weiss, says the little bundle of joy had a different plan.

“I start to see him crown,” Nathan said. “That’s when I dialed 911, and just made the call, ‘Hey, start sending (help), because my baby is on the way.’”

First responders were at the couple’s house within minutes, but that was enough time for Baby Zeke to be born.

“I see his head! I see his head!” Nathan told Eichholtz on the 911 call.

While on speakerphone, the Hancock County 911 dispatcher guided the dad through a list of instructions:

“Dry the baby off with a clean towel, then wrap the baby in another clean dry towel,” Eichholtz said.

“Okay, I will — He’s beautiful,” Nathan said.

For mom, that guidance was everything she needed at that moment.

“She actually calmed my nerves a little bit,” Kelsey said. “Just hearing her and then hearing him talk to her, and then the baby cry.”

Dispatchers rarely get to meet the people they help, but a week after the ordeal Eichholtz got to hold Zeke when the family paid her a visit at work.

“It was…a surreal, very special moment for me,” Eichholtz said. “We don’t get a lot of that type of positivity. It definitely reignited just a sense of why I do the job, and my love for the job.”

To celebrate her role, Eichholtz received a pin that shows a stork and a dispatcher’s headset.

Eichholtz joins two other Hancock County 911 operators who’ve also helped deliver a baby.