Fourth Grader Saves a Choking Friend

If I saw someone choking, could I save them? Would I know what to do?  I would probably stand there thinking too long, trying to find the right position for the fist at the top of the rib cage, (or is it the bottom?) By the time I found it, it would be too late. Thank goodness little kids are more confident than I.

When a South Carolina fourth grader started choking, his 10 year old friend sprang into action.

It all went down in the school lunch room.  Thomas Adkins had trouble with his last chicken nugget. He told the WPXI reporter, “It got stuck and then one part went down, and then I shot it back down and then I started choking,”

At first, 10-year-old Damaryion Pichardo thought Thomas was joking, until he realized his friend couldn't breathe.

Damaryion knew what to do because his Mom, the nurse taught him. .

He got behind his friend and performed the Heimlich Maneuver

Thomas was properly grateful, because, he said,  “It takes a couple of minutes for the ambulance to get there, so it's best that you know how to do it”.

Thomas didn’t even need the ambulance, teachers took him to the school nurse after Damaryion saved the day. Then Thomas went back to class.

As for eating chicken nuggets, Damaryrion is ready to give them another try.  Thomas apparently has a habit of choking on things.  He probably needs a lesson in chewing.