11-year old girl saves mom with 911 call.

Nickerson sent off her husband and youngest daughter to church that Sunday in Dec. having come down with the flu while her eldest daughter Charlene stayed home with the beginnings of a cold.

Nickerson’s flu took a turn for the worse when a fever burned throughout her body making her feel sick to her stomach.

Concerned, Charlene took her mother's temperature confirming the fever now registering at 100 degrees.

Charlene called the hospital to ask the attendant's advice. What should she do? The hospital staff advised her to call an ambulance to bring her mother into the hospital from their North West Harbour home.

Her mother disagreed and told Charlene not to call and instead to help her into the bedroom where she could rest; it was then that things got worse and Nickerson became less aware of her surroundings and began to lose consciousness.

Charlene acted quickly and against her mother’s request dialed 911.

“Charlene showed a high level of maturity,” said Shelburne EHS representative Lewis Chetwynd.

“She stayed calm and cool giving all the required information and didn’t even cry.”

When the paramedics arrived Nickerson’s fever had reached 105 degrees and she was suffering from pulmonary edema, a build-up of fluid in her lungs, symptoms from what her doctors would later call a ‘superbug’ (unresponsive to antibiotics).

“Time was critical,” said Chetwynd. “it was important the daughter recognized the seriousness of the situation.”

The EHS team described Charlene as brave and quick minded even making sure her dog was locked up and out of the way before they arrived.

“Not very often do adults react as well as Charlene did,” said Ingomar/Harbour First Responders member, Sheree Smith who, along with Dale Smith was the first to arrive at the scene.

Chetwynd agreed. “Her heroism and that she could do something like that is remarkable.”

Charlene was awarded a plaque for her bravery today in her Hillcrest Academy classroom in front of friends and family.

“I am so proud of her,” said a now completely recovered Nickerson, tears welling up in her eyes. “She is so special and today I’m glad she got a chance to know how special she is.”