“I have never seen a student react in that way before,” the child's teacher said.
Fourth grader Essie Collier is being hailed as a hero for showing her quickness and presence of mind as she performed a Heimlich maneuver on her classmate when she was choking on food. Teachers and students were all amazed by the act and were left appalled to know that Essie had in fact learned the trick through a YouTube video that she recollected just in time.
All the students at Racine’s Fratt Elementary School were having lunch in their classroom itself since the lunchroom was cleared for voting procedures. When Essie noticed her friend struggling to breathe, she immediately rushed to her rescue. According to reports from NBC News, Essie said, “I just saw that she was holding her neck, and I rushed up there as fast as I can.” She grabbed her friend and started performing the Heimlich immediately. Teacher Samantha Bradshaw who saw the turn of events shared how she was shocked to see the swiftness in the kid's actions. “I have never seen a student react in that way before,” Bradshaw said.
Essence #Collier (Essie) is 9 years old. Yes, nine!
— Sharon Carbine (@SharonCarbine) November 13, 2022
Essie saved the life of a classmate who was choking at Fratt Elementary in Racine, #WI.
Essie performed the #HeimlichManeuver on her classmate.
See Essie interviewed at https://t.co/cEpboJqRlP. pic.twitter.com/Q3qANs2UFb
9-year-old Essie said that he had seen the technique in a YouTube video online two years ago and that the instructions somehow stayed with her. Undoubtedly, the school is delighted by her act and plans on honoring Essie at a board meeting later in November.
Credit to the free life skills education available online, more and more kids are becoming swift and aware of the basics of acting in emergency circumstances. In another incident, a 7-year-old elementary school student also showed similar heroics when he saved his classmate's life when she suddenly choked while having lunch. This incident unfolded in Woodrow Wilson Elementary in Binghamton, New York, where David Diaz Jr., a second-grader, noticed his classmate choke on a pizza bite.
Essie Collier, a fourth grader at Fratt Elementary School in Racine, Wisconsin, may have saved the life of a classmate by performing the Heimlich maneuver on her as she choked on food, authorities said. https://t.co/BvJZSkmZTh
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) November 14, 2022
Interestingly, David learned this move from "The Good Doctor," a TV medical drama he often watches with his father, David Diaz Sr., as per reports from FOX News. David said that he knew this was something "important to know" and remember, which is why he paid close attention to understanding the act. When he jumped in and wrapped his arms around his friend, he wasn't sure he would be able to save him, but he just knew he had to try. "If anybody is choking or is in danger, you always have to save them," David Diaz Jr. told Fox News Digital. "If you don’t, then that could be really sad," the boy added. David was later awarded for his heroism. Later, Binghamton City School District superintendent Dr. Tonia Thompson and New York State Sen. Fred Akshar also paid him a visit, lauding his heroic act.
The Heimlich maneuver is a life-saving act more and more people are getting aware of. When a person is choking on food, causing an obstruction in his/ her airway, the Heimlich maneuver is performed to force the air up from the airway, throwing the food out. It is refreshing to see kids perform this life-saving act so seamlessly, encouraging more of us to equip ourselves with this and other hacks for moments of emergency.
References:
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/ny-elementary-student-saves-choking-classmate-heimlich
Cover Image Source: YouTube | WISN 12 News
