Photo By Douglas Stutz | Military children are known for being resilience and that trait proved timely and to...... read more read more
The Defense Health Agency has long noted that military kids are the cornerstone of military families and display remarkable strength and resilience.
Such strength and resilience in a youngster was acknowledged with a special command Good Catch Award at Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command (NMRTC) Bremerton March 29, 2021.
Iris Motter, the eight-year daughter of Lt. j.g. Tefany Motter, Navy Nurse Corps officer assigned to NMRTC Bremerton, was recognized for her quick thinking in rendering support to a family member in need of medical attention.
According to Cmdr. Kathryn Jensen, NMRTC Bremerton’s Nursing Services assistant director, while Motter was at work, Iris noticed her grandmother was not responding to her phone ringing. Her grandmother did not recognize herself or her phone password. Iris initiated a memory game to get the phone password.
“Because of this, she was able to unlock the phone and call her mother,” said Jensen. “Iris’ immediate recognition of the seriousness of the situation, calm demeanor, ingenuity and quick actions enabled Motter to get her mother to the Emergency Department and definitive care.”
“Who has that kind of composure at that age? I didn’t. Just amazing,” continued Jensen. “Just a very impressive young lady. And a hero, even if she doesn’t think so.”
Capt. Shannon J. Johnson, NMRTC Bremerton commanding officer thought so.
“I learned that you did something amazing,” Johnson said, addressing Iris. “You were home with your grandmother and noticed something was not right and that your grandmother needed medical attention. You stayed very calm and came up with a really good idea for how to call for help.”
“I just kind of knew,” shyly replied Iris.
“You had a conversation with her to get the access code to her phone,” prompted Johnson.
“I knew there was the number five, but not the rest,” Iris replied.
“And you stayed calm and talked her through to get the rest,” exclaimed Johnson. “There’s no way I could have done that at your age. You mom is known for being calm and composed, and for being able to make good decisions in stressful circumstances. Sounds to me that you are a lot like her. Maybe you will go into healthcare too since you already seem to have the skills to be a good doctor or nurse. I am pleased to hear that your grandmother is doing much better, thanks to you. I want to personally thank you for remaining so calm and making sure your grandmother got the medical care she needed.”
“Some of what she did is natural and some of it is learned,” added Motter.
With April recognized as Month of the Military Child, the health and wellbeing of military children like Iris is a top priority for the Military Health System. Experts have noted that military children are known to be resilient as they deal with constant change. They become resourceful and creative in decision making. They also deal with deployments, separations, and duty station transfers.
According to the DoD Education Activity, the average child in a military family will relocate between six to nine times during a career, which is three times more frequently than non-military families. That means adjusting and adapting to a lot of different schools, classes, friends, etc.
There are approximately 1,117,972 active duty military children and 716,879 reserve-component military children, the majority who are five years old and younger. Many commands and installations organize specific events for military children.
One popular program that NMRTC Bremerton Sailors has continued to host and coordinate for local military families in the third largest fleet concentration of Navy Region Northwest is the Navy’s Drug Education For Youth (DEFY) summer camp.
DEFY is a year-long mentorship program for 9-12 year olds geared towards keeping children drug free, teaching them various life skills, helping them develop successful positive thinking, and giving them the confidence to combat peer pressure.
NMRTC Bremerton supports more than 60,000 military families in West Puget Sound, providing patient-centered care to active duty, retirees and their families.
Yet as Iris Motter showed, support can also come directly from a young resilient family member to another family member, especially during a crucial time in need.
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2021 16:31 |
| Story ID: | 392890 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 175 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, A Resilient Military Child to the Rescue, by Douglas Stutz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
