Revere girl honored for saving grandmother

REVERE – A 5 year old from Revere saved the day Tuesday when she called 911 after her diabetic grandmother collapsed on the floor.Julia Vajao dialed 911 and reached Revere Fire Dispatch after her grandmother became dizzy and later fell to the ground unconscious.Vajao’s grandmother, Marie Vajao, suffers from diabetes and collapsed due to low blood sugar.Marie Vajao says she had taken all of her medication and had checked her blood sugar throughout the day and never expected anything to go wrong.”I was feeling fine. I had taken my medication and had done my blood tests, but all of a sudden I began to feel ill,” she said.”She (Julia) knows I’m diabetic and thankfully she knew what to do right away,” she said.Julia initially reached Revere Fire Dispatch after dialing 911. The fire dispatcher then called the Revere Police Department and talked to Police Dispatcher Patricia Ciulla.Ciulla says she became a little confused after calling Julia back.”At first we thought she was home alone and weren’t quite sure what was going on,” said Ciulla.Revere Police Officer Andrew Lauria was dispatched to the home of Marie Vajao and was greeted at the door by the young girl.”She was calm as could be,” said Lauria. “At first I thought she was home alone, but she kept saying ‘Vova,’ Vova,’ which means grandmother. She took me by the hand and led me to her grandmother, who was on the floor unconscious.”Lauria says at that point, EMTs arrived and began to care for Marie.”We then got a hold of Julia’s mother (Elaine) at work and told her what was going on,” said Lauria.Julia said she wasn’t scared to dial 911 and just wanted to help her grandmother.”The school and my mom taught me (how to dial 911),” she said.Julia attends pre-school classes three days a week at Kiddie Koop in Revere. Her grandmother watches her the other two days.”I’m happy,” a wide-smiled Julia said when asked how she felt about what she had done to help her grandmother.Elaine Vajao says there are no words to explain how proud she is of her daughter.”You don’t realize how smart kids are and what they take in until something like this happens,” she said. “We are proud beyond words and are so glad that my mother-in-law is okay.”At a reception held at the Revere Police Department Friday in honor of Julia’s bravery, an emotional Marie Vajao says her granddaughter saved her life.”You have no idea what could happen under those circumstances,” she said. “Who knows how long I could have been on the floor. She came to my rescue and saved my life.”Revere Police Chief Terence Reardon awarded Julia with a framed certificate stating: “In recognition of your act of public safety, Julia Vajao,” along with several gift certificates to McDonalds.”We are all very proud of Julia’s quick reaction and her intelligence at such a young age,” said Reardon.Elaine Vajao said Kiddie Koop had a pizza party in honor of Julia and gave her a big balloon and a ribbon of achievement.”She deserves all of it,” said Elaine. “It’s so nice to recognize her. We couldn’t be happier the way things turned out.”Julia’s older brother Jared, 11, said he’s amazed at what his little sister did.”She’s very smart,” he said. “I am so proud to be her big brother.”