2026 Blue KC Answering the Call Honoree Macy Oswald – Month of August
An Amazing Journey
The source of trauma for front-line emergency personnel is pretty obvious. Seeing horrific scenes in military battles or emergency situations for police officers and firefighters can lead to stress that impacts far beyond the job.
For dispatchers like Macy Oswald, that trauma is more hidden. But it’s every bit as real.
“We hear the initial calls,” said Oswald, a communications specialist for the city of Lee’s Summit, Mo. “We hear the panic, we hear all the chaos, but we never get the closure of the situation. We don’t see what happens next.
“We get to learn that they’re transporting a patient or something, but we don’t get to see anything beyond that. So we build up this story in our heads that’s usually way different than what really happened.”
Sometimes crews share the results with the dispatchers to alleviate the uncertainty, but that’s not always possible. Dispatchers can bottle up the pressure while moving on to the next call, at least until that bottle fills up and they can’t take it anymore.
Oswald recognized that fact and set out to help her fellow dispatchers. She pursued professional training opportunities and demonstrated a commitment to community impact by sharing her personal story to support others, reduce stigma and reinforce that individuals are not alone in their experiences.
Because of her work, Oswald is the August recipient of the “Blue KC Answering the Call” award, sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, benefitting The Battle Within. The Battle Within is an organization that helps former military personnel and first responders cope with that sometimes-hidden trauma.
It might not be one specific call or situation that puts someone like Oswald over the edge. It can be an accumulation of events.
“For me, it was losing a close family friend who was in the fire department that caused me to think, ‘I don’t know if I can still do this,’” she said. “A lot of my coworkers were thinking, ‘We’re probably never going to see her again.’ They were really worried about me, because they knew that it hit a little bit more.
“It’s always been my thing to check on everyone else. Everyone else has to be okay, but I’ll just deal with it myself. I had everyone checking on me, and I was like, ‘Please don’t check on me. I don’t want you to check on me anymore.”
She recognized that her reaction wasn’t healthy, so Oswald invested herself into The Battle Within. And recognizing how that helped her, Oswald has become a dedicated mentor with The Battle Within, walking alongside participants on their healing journeys.
“The Battle Within made me let people in and let people help me,” she continued. “It gave me some good tools to realize when I’m not okay, and then even just doing things to stay centered.”
The best part of TBW, in Oswald’s eyes, is that her fellow participants have been in those same situations, so they know what she’s going through. She doesn’t have to explain the stress to them.
“Going through a cohort almost makes you take that journey together,” she said. “It’s almost your own journey, because you’re getting to walk alongside these people. People walk alongside your journey with you, so you’re walking alongside others on their journeys.
“Because of The Battle Within, I’ve become more of a voice for mental health. I’m very passionate about mental health.”
Recently, Oswald was selected as a member of the Mid-America Regional Council peer support team. Her goal is to enhance her service on her department’s peer support team to support the mental health and well-being of her colleagues.
And she is most proud of being a recipient of the Order of the Flame, a symbol of purpose, service and resilience. This recognition serves as a daily reminder of her commitment to those she serves and supports, both professionally and personally.
It’s extra special for her because the recognition came from her fellow TBW alumni.
“You receive it for showing what it means to be what The Battle Within embodies,” she said. “It was a shock, but it was absolutely amazing.”
Absolutely amazing: that’s a good way to describe Macy Oswald.
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