[chris]

A 4-year-old girl in Waldorf, Maryland, saved her mother's life on Aug. 7, 2009, by calmly calling 911 during a diabetic emergency and guiding paramedics to the home.

Sharon Mason, who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in October 2008, had told her daughter Samantha she felt unwell and went upstairs to rest. Her blood sugar dropped sharply, leaving her unable to speak. "All I remember is saying, 'Sam,'" Sharon Mason said. "That's it. That's all I remember. I couldn't speak to her but I could see and hear her."

Samantha rushed downstairs and dialed 911, reaching the Charles County Department of Emergency Services communications center in La Plata. Dispatcher Jaime Ostrander kept her on the line while asking for her name, her mother's name and their address.

"Samantha identified herself and her mom and gave me her address and phone number," Ostrander said. "That's pretty atypical of a 4-year-old to do all that. She stayed calm and collected. She handled the situation very well."

Paramedics arrived quickly and administered glucose, raising Sharon Mason's blood sugar back to normal. She recovered fully. "The next thing I knew there were six paramedics standing over me," she said.

The Charles County Board of Commissioners recognized Samantha and Ostrander at a meeting on Nov. 16, 2009, the same session at which commissioners proclaimed November as American Diabetes Month in the county. Ostrander later nominated Samantha for Maryland's statewide "Right Care When It Counts" award, given to children credited with helping save a life during a medical emergency.