A Spring Gully girl has been named a junior Triple Zero hero for helping her mother through a medical episode.
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The recognition came as the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority’s CEO Marty Smyth highlighted the importance of teaching children and young people when, and how, to call Triple Zero.
Last year, a 10-year-old Grace Wells contacted the emergency hotline when her mother Liz became unwell.
“I asked Grace to call me an ambulance. From there, she handled it,” Mrs Wells said.
In fact, Grace handled the highly stressful situation so well that the operator nominated her for a junior Triple Zero hero award.
Grace and 30 other Victorian children received awards from emergency services minister James Merlino and 1999 Brownlow medalist Shane Crawford at a ceremony in Melbourne last Wednesday.
Grace felt proud to receive the award.
“I’m really happy about it, and my family and friends at school are spoiling me,” she said.
An audio recording of the Triple Zero call captured Grace’s heroism.
In it, the operator asks a range of questions. Grace explains what has happened and describes symptoms, relaying information between the operator and her mother, who is having difficulty moving and speaking.
“Mum says she thinks she might have had a stroke,” she tells the operator.
Grace follows the operator’s instructions, performing a speech test and helping monitor her mother’s condition as paramedics race to the scene.
This week, Mrs Wells said Grace’s strength shone through whenever she was confronted by adversity.
“She’s very calm and mature in bad situations,” Mrs Wells said.
“She’s just a very nice kid. She tries hard at school and is friends with everyone.”
Mrs Wells suspected Grace’s community-mindedness helped her respond when the going got tough.
“She’s very conscious of elderly people, so she’s very responsible, very caring and sees the value in community,” she said.
Below is an abridged version of Grace’s 12 minute and 24 second call. Mrs Wells hoped it would prompt families to discuss what they would do in similar situations.
She requested the Bendigo Advertiser not publish parts of the recording for privacy reasons, including audio capturing her speaking to both Grace and the operator about the medical episode.
This version shows parts of the initial six minutes of the phone call, as well as the final moments when paramedics arrive at the scene.