ARCHER COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) — An Archer County dispatcher is being recognized for her life-saving actions.

It started as a normal day a couple of weeks ago at the Archer County Sheriff’s Office. But then Dispatcher Whitney Johnson received a phone call that immediately got her attention.

“A gentleman called, he said he got home from picking up his grandson from school, and his wife had been choking,” Johnson said.

Johnson quickly tried to walk him through the Heimlich Maneuver, but after realizing he couldn’t do that, she remembered another method.

“I had heard of a chair technique, you get any chair with a back and put that person over the back of the chair, and you throw your stomach onto that, and that’s what I told him to do,” Johnson said.

It was a quick decision that may have saved her life and also led to Johnson being recognized by the Archer County Commissioners’ Court as she was awarded the Sheriff’s Life-Saving award.

The award is something Sheriff Jack Curd said is pretty rare for them to give.

“We’ve never done it since I’ve been sheriff,” Curd said. “But I think we are quick into writing people up or getting onto people when they make a mistake, we also have to congratulate people and thank people and recognize them when they do something extraordinary.”

Johnson feels she was just doing her job.

“I did not expect it,” Johnson said. “I don’t do this job to get an award – it’s my job. It’s what I’m here for. It was unexpected, but I’m very grateful and thankful and feel appreciated.”

Even though she felt she was just doing what she was supposed to do, for those people she helped, she’s a true hero.

This is actually not the first time Johnson has saved someone with the Heimlich Maneuver. In fact, she performed it on a child while babysitting when she was still in high school and also on her niece.

Thankfully, each time it was a success.