When Carlee Desmond, 10, returns to Clanton Intermediate School on Monday following her spring break vacation, she will have quite the story to tell.

Just shortly after 9:30 a.m. on March 26, Carlee found her dad, Jimmy Desmond, having a seizure in the living room of the family’s home in Clanton.

The girls were staying at home with their dad (who stayed home from work due to not feeling well) on Tuesday after deciding not to go spend the day with their grandmother.

Carlee was in her bedroom and heard what she described as a loud choking sound coming from the living room where her dad had been resting.

Knowing she had to help her dad, who had no prior history of having seizures, Carlee immediately picked up her cell phone and dialed 911.

Once on the phone, the operator instructed Carlee to make sure Jimmy was still breathing and assured Carlee that help would soon be on the way.

Carlee stayed on the phone with the operator and also instructed her sister, Caylee, 6, who was watching Netflix in a nearby room, to stay in the room until she told her it was OK to come out.

“I knew I had to help my dad get better but I also didn’t want my sister to be scared by seeing him like that so I told her to stay in the room where she was,” Carlee said. “The operator was really nice and made me feel unafraid.”

Once help arrived on the scene, Carlee called her mom, Christy, who was at work to let her know what had happened.

Jimmy was transported to Shelby Baptist Medical Center where doctors could not locate the reason for the seizure and sent Jimmy home to recuperate.

Now, both Jimmy and Christy are spending the rest of spring break week thankful for their eldest daughter, Carlee, who saved Jimmy’s life.

“Carlee has always been a nurturing person,” Christy said. “She is a caretaker by nature and I am incredibly proud of her. She was so poised and calm during a situation that is normally frantic and it ultimately saved her dad’s life.”