When Team Dover Airmen go beyond the call of duty

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DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The 3d Airlift Squadron received special praise from a military family traveling from Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland to Dover AFB, Delaware. Master Sgt. John Eric Wagner, Air Force District of Washington Bioenvironmental Engineering Technician Manager, expressed his gratitude through this note about an Airman who assisted his family (specifically his daughter) during the trip:

A few months back my 9 year old daughter was diagnosed with Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infection (PANDAS). Long story short, when you get strep throat your body builds up antibodies to fight the infection. Well, in some rare cases in children those antibodies mistake a part of the brain for the infection and attack that part of the brain instead. Causing a laundry list of disorders from OCD, anxiety, phobias, eating disorders, etc. My daughter developed a severe phobia of vomiting and anything associated with it (i.e. potential for motion sickness from riding on a bus, train, or airplane). Mind you that she has flown on an airplane dozens of times in the past. For several years now, every summer I have flown my kids to Europe via space-A so they could spend the summer with their grandparents in Italy. This year she absolutely refused to fly as she was terrified.

Working with her psychiatrist we started working on some exposure therapy. We slowly began to introduce her and expose her to her fears, in escalating order...i.e. first off by riding an elevator, then a bus, then the metro, and finally an airplane. So when it came time for the airplane, we decided to take a short hop from Andrews to Dover.
She was scared and crying as we went up the stairs into the C-17, but SrA [Toiannah] Campbell was quick to come up and talk to her and comfort her. SrA Campbell showed her around the aircraft and up where the crew sits, and reassured Arianna that she would tell her about everything that was happening so that it wouldn't scare her (i.e. engine run up, closing the doors, taxiing and take off). She calmed down enough to sit down and buckle in, but she was still very frightened and nervous. SrA Campbell kept her word and came over and told Arianna everything that was going on. Arianna hugged me tightly during taxi and take off, but once we were in the air she looked up at me and said "Daddy I did it! I can fly on an airplane! I want to go to Italy now!!" Arianna was so happy and so proud of herself for actually doing it.

And I, as a parent, have had a very difficult time seeing my child struggle with this disorder. When your kid has a tummy ache or a fever, you can give them some medicine, chicken soup, and comfort them...if they fall down and scrape their knee, you can clean it, put a band aid on it and give it a kiss...but when your child suffers from a mental disorder, you just feel so helpless. I can't express just how elated I was to see her conquer this fear. And she did this with the help of SrA Campbell.

So thank you SrA Campbell. Thank you for being so kind and gentle with my daughter. God bless you. And thank you too Lt Col Radio and SSgt Wright. I thank you two gentlemen for growing and grooming such a great Airman. The US Air Force needs more airmen like SrA Campbell...more so, the world needs more people like her.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

God speed.

MSgt Wagner