Heimlich Heroes Blog
Jun 22, 2018
Posted By Heimlich Heroes
Kids all over the United States are saving lives and we want to celebrate them! On our website we feature children, teen, and adult Heimlich Heroes in our Everyday Hero collection. Not only is this a way to celebrate Heimlich Heroes, but it can inspire learning and encouragement in your training events.
Sharing these amazing stories during your training event is a great supplement to our materials. Inspire confidence; these heroes have saved a life—you can too!
Fifth grader Noah Huff was eating lunch with his friends at Bosqueville Elementary School when his classmate Michael Purvis began to choke. Thanks to his first aid training from Boy Scouts he knew just what to do!
Michael was enjoying the popular spaghetti and meatballs for lunch when he realized something was wrong. “I knew that I had to let my friends know that I was choking so they could help me,” Purvis said. “I began gesturing to (my) friends that I couldn’t breathe.”
“I knew I had to clear his airway quickly and I got up and went to him as another student ran to get a teacher,” said Huff. “I grabbed Mike from behind and administered the Heimlich.”
When performing the maneuver it is important to have your hands in the correct place.
Huff noticed his hand placement and made a change.
“The first thrust was too low,” said Huff, “so I moved my hands up a little bit. After several thrusts the meatball flew up into his mouth and he started breathing again.”
Bosqueville Elementary principal, Kelly Bray, said this in the first choking incident at the school in the 12 years she has been there.
“I was very proud and very thankful for the quick action and calmness that Noah demonstrated,” said Bray. “Students are instructed to find an adult in emergency situations, and a second student, Bryan Nelson, did just that. But Noah’s Boy Scout training had prepared him to jump into action.”
Many organizations across the country have engaged Heimlich Heroes training to help their kids, staff, and volunteers learn a valuable life-saving tool – the Heimlich Maneuver®:
You can bring this important training to your group too! Check out the mega-menu at the top of this page to learn more about Heimlich Heroes and how you can get started.
Bring this training to your organization – you could save a life!
