Seth Viel, 10, from Delton, has been named the 911 Young Hero 2016 for his actions when he called Barry County Central Dispatch 911 to get medical help for his father Matt when he needed it.
Seth will be given the Young Hero award on May 23 at the Crowne Plaza in Lansing at a Conference of the Michigan Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
He will be there with his parents, Jennifer and Matt Viel, Barry Central Dispatch officials, including Director Phyllis Fuller and Dispatcher Kristina Beach and 200 to 250 professionals from dispatch centers around the state.
The Young Hero must be younger than 12, helped save a life or a made a call that had a positive outcome.
Seth called 911 at 5:11 p.m. Jan. 13, and reached dispatcher Beach.
“I believe that Seth is worthy of the award because his quick action in calling 911 helped save his father’s life,” Beach said in her nominating letter to NENA for the award.
"Seth answered difficult medical questions about his father’s condition by talking to his dad through the bathroom door. He stayed very calm and relayed questions and answers clearly. Seth was very brave for helping his dad while he was sick,” she said.
When the medical questions were answered, Seth updated her on his father’s condition, described his house in detail and told her there were no cars in the driveway.
Seth’s mother had left the house to pick up older son James in Delton, a 25-minute round trip. She got home nine minutes after he called 911, just as he was giving them her cell phone number.
“Had he waited that nine minutes for his mother to return, the outcome of the call could have been drastically different,” Beach said. After a week of treatment in the hospital, Matt came home and is doing well, Jennifer said. “We’re so proud of Seth, he did a really good job.”
Jean Gallup