CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – A Parkway School District student is being applauded for applying the Heimlich maneuver on Monday to save a classmate from choking.
When no words came out from a nearby classmate at the start of the school day, this sixth-grade student’s sixth sense told him something was wrong.
“I hear my friend making weird noises, so I turn around, and I see him choking,” said Jackson. “He’s doing the choking symbol like that. Right away, I spring into action.”
Joan Aleman was teaching world geography when the student was choking. The sixth grade social studies teacher at Parkway Central Middle School said Jackson quickly jump up and applied the Heimlich maneuver.
“Jackson stood up and went behind him and did the maneuver and didn’t let anything get to him. Before I could even get to him, the incident was already over,” Aleman said.
Jackson said he credits his actions to the lessons learned at River Bend Elementary when he was in fourth grade.
“Jackson emailed me first thing this morning. He told me there was a boy that was choking, and he knew what to do because of the lesson we had when he was in fourth grade learning the Heimlich maneuver,” said Jen Baker, registered nurse, school nurse at Riverbend Elementary.
The student that Jackson helped was checked by a nurse and staff. He was able to return to class. Jackson encouraged people to not be afraid to help someone when you see they needed assistance.
“If you see someone injured or in my case choking,” Jackson said. “Don’t be timid or afraid to hop into action. Even if you try, you’re not going to hurt things. But you can only succeed if you try.”