Transcript of Postal Worker's 911 Call

Nov. 7 -- Postal worker Thomas Morris, Jr. was one of four people who have died from inhalation anthrax. Hours before his death on Oct. 21, he called 911 and said he suspected he had been exposed to the deadly bacteria at the Brentwood postal facility, which processed the anthrax-laced letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's office on Capitol Hill. Here is a transcript of Morris' 911 call:

OPERATOR: "Hello"

MORRIS: "Yes, um, my name is Thomas L. Morris Jr., I'm at 4244Suitland Road in the (inaudible) apartment complex, apartment 201."

OPERATOR: "And what's the problem?"

MORRIS: "My breathing is very, very labored."

OPERATOR: "How old are you?"

MORRIS: "Um, 55."

MORRIS: "Ah, I, I don't know if I have been, but I suspect thatI might have been exposed to anthrax."

OPERATOR: "Do you know when?"

MORRIS: "It was last, what, last Saturday a week ago, lastSaturday morning at work. I work for the Postal Service. I've beento the doctor. Ah, I went to the doctor Thursday, he took a culture, but he never got back to me with the results. I guessthere was some hang-up over the weekend, I'm not sure. But in themeantime, I went through a achiness and head achiness, this startedTuesday. Now I'm having difficulty breathing and just to move anydistance, I feel like I'm going to pass out. I'm here at the house,my wife is here, I'm on the couch."

OPERATOR: "Ok, so you're aching, dizzy?"

MORRIS: "No, no, no, not now."

OPERATOR: "Not now?"

MORRIS: "But I am, my breathing is labored and my chest feelsconstricted. Um, I am getting air, but to get up and walk and whathave you, I feel like I might just pass out and stuff if I stand uptoo long, so I'm just chillin'."

OPERATOR: "Ok, which post office do you work at?"

MORRIS: "This is the post office downtown, um, Brentwood Road,Washington, D.C., post office. (Pause) There was, ah, a woman foundan envelope, and I was in the vicinity. It had powder in it. Theynever let us know whether the thing had anthrax or not. They never,ah, treated the people who were around this particular individualand the supervisor who handled the envelope. Ah, so I don't [know] if itis or not, I'm just, I haven't been able to find out, I've beencalling. But the symptoms that I've had are what was described tome in a letter they put out, almost to a tee. Except I haven't hadany vomiting, except just until a few minutes ago. I'm not bleedingand I don't have diarrhea. The doctor thought that it was just avirus or something, so we went with that and I was taking Tylenolfor the achiness. Except the shortness of breath now, I don't know,that's consistent with the, with the anthrax."