8-Year-Old Boy Is Declared a 'Real-Life Hero' After He Saved Classmate's Life by Remembering Something His Dad Told Him
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Some wear capes, and others wear just normal clothes.
Heroes can also be different ages, and in this case, the hero was just 8 years old.
Garrett Brown, a Norman, Oklahoma, native, came to the rescue of fellow classmate Cashton York, according to KOCO-TV.
The young hero performed the Heimlich maneuver while his classmate was choking.
He was taught the life-saving technique by his father.
Brown stated, “I was choking, and he saved me and taught me to save someone else.”
It’s best to always be on the lookout for someone choking, as it is the “fourth leading cause of unintentional death,” according to Healthline.
The Heimlich maneuver consists of “abdominal thrusts [to] lift your diaphragm and expel air from your lungs.”
It is always a good idea to become CPR trained in case you run across someone in distress.
The American Heart Association provides a list of classes in one’s area.
York’s mother commented on the experience.
“Extremely scary to know in a matter of seconds my child could have choked to death on food, at school when you’re not around,” she said, KOCO-TV reported.
“There’s not enough words to be grateful for saving him.”
The day began as a normal day. A worker at the school said, “It was chicken nugget day here in the cafeteria, which the kids absolutely love.”
“But on this particular day, during the third grade lunch, there was a student who was eating, took a bite and began choking,” she recounted.
The was when Brown stepped in.
The tiny hero received a celebration in his honor after the scary event.
He was declared “a real-life hero” before he was introduced to the crowd.
And the boy he saved said a kind “thank you,” with the two sharing a hug afterward.
The classmate added, “You’re the best friend in the whole world I ever had.”
It’s not the first time an adolescent saved someone with the Heimlich maneuver. In July, another student saved his classmate with the same lifesaving move, according to Fox News.
David Diaz Jr. from Binghamton, New York, learned the move from watching the TV show “The Good Doctor.”
The young boy stated, “I didn’t know what to do, so I just did it.”
Talk about a paying-it-forward experience.
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