Megan and Patrick Wilson had to grow up the hard way.

For starters, in 2008 their father, Spc. John Wilson enlisted in the U.S. Army at age 40, after working as a police officer for more than 20 years.  With her husband stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the family remained in North Carolina until on-post housing came available.  While they waited for housing, he deployed to Iraq for a one year tour of duty.

Three weeks after his departure, their mother, Julia Wilson lit a wood-burning stove in the family home and it exploded.  She was caught on fire and sustained deep second and third degree burns from her chin to her knees and on her hand. Megan put the fire out.

"I would be dead if not for Megan," she said. "She put the fire out, called 9-1-1, kept me calm, and made sure her brother got off to school that day.  They were both just amazing."

For months, the two children - Megan, age 15, and Patrick, age 12, took care of their mother and the house, in their father's absence.

"Megan cooked and cleaned, got her brother off to school and changed my bandages," Julia Wilson said.  "She was the mother for a few months."

For Megan, helping her mother came naturally, she said.  "She couldn't do the work," Megan, a 10th grader said. "And my brother was too young.  There was no one else around who was going to do it.  So I had to.  It was the worst thing I ever had to go through.  But I did it and it was worth it."

During this time, the teenager was able to raise her grades from average to A's, she said.  "I didn't want my mom to see my report card and stress because I was not doing well in school," Megan said. "So I worked harder and somehow managed to get my grades up."

Patrick concurred with his sister.  They did what they had to do, he said.  "I had to do a lot more than usual," he said. "I was confused.  I felt bad I had to do so much, but I felt good that I had more responsibility.  I felt like I could do things a lot better after that."

Despite the traumatic fire and their father's deployment last year, the youngsters are going strong at Fort Lewis.  Patrick likes the new environment, and Megan aspires to attend a Washington college and get a job working with children, she said.

"The whole experience has made me a better person," she said. "My mom thinks I am great because I helped her, but she is my mom.  I just did what I needed to do.  My mom is my best friend.  She is the only person I can be completely honest with and know she won't judge me.  I think I came out of this whole thing a better person.  I still worry about my dad getting hurt, but military life is not bad."