CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- With a cool head and some quick thinking, an 8-year-old Cleveland Girl Scout saved her mother's life last summer.
On Wednesday, AnnaLee Simpson received the Girl Scouts' Medal of Honor in recognition of her life-saving work during a ceremony at the Cleveland Bradley County Public Library.
"There is no question that AnnaLee's actions on that day changed the world, not only for herself, but for her family, as well," said Booth Kammann, CEO of the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians.
AnnaLee, a Girl Scout Junior who has belonged to Troop 41555 for five years, was recommended for the award because of the actions she took during a potentially fatal family crisis at her home at 4 p.m. on July 22, 2014.
Troop volunteer Juliane Hale described a harrowing account in which AnnaLee's ability to "think on her feet" served as a contributing factor in her mother's survival after a common wasp sting quickly turned deadly.
On that Tuesday afternoon, AnnaLee was upstairs playing with Lainee, her 5-year-old sister. However, things were taking a life-threatening turn for her mother, Jackie, who had collapsed in the downstairs kitchen.
Jackie, whose immune system had been compromised because of chemotherapy, was experiencing anaphylactic shock shortly after being stung by a wasp while sweeping the porch. She had gone to the kitchen to take a dose of Benadryl, but passed out before she could reach the medicine.
When Jackie regained consciousness, her heart was racing, her eyes were bulging and her skin was raised and red, Hale said. She began to vomit repeatedly, and the only thing she could do was call AnnaLee for help.
"AnnaLee came downstairs, surveyed the scene and immediately took control," Girl Scout spokeswoman Sarah Callahan said in a news release. "She called her grandmother [a seasoned RN] and concisely described the situation."
While she waited with her mother until help arrived, AnnaLee ensured that her younger sister remained upstairs, protecting her sibling from having to witness the traumatic events unfolding in the kitchen, Hale said.
"I was thinking I was very scared and didn't know I could do it," AnnaLee said.
Her mother said she was thankful for her daughter's actions that afternoon.
"If she wasn't there to get help for me, there's no telling what would have happened," Jackie said.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.