During a school assembly last week a second-grader from Arizona was hailed as a hero for his quick thinking in saving his friend who was choking on his lunch during the school day.
In Mesa, Ariz., an 8-year-old, Thomas Conley, a student at Porter Elementary School was eating lunch with his friend Isaiah, just as he did every day, when Thomas's classmate suddenly stood up and fell against the bench.
I saw him crying and I just started, like, “What's up? And for a moment, I did not understand what was he doing. But finally, I realized that he was choking, so I just decided to do the Heimlich, Thomas said.
Isaiah had started choking on a grape. Thomas immediately took action and with a little hesitation pulled the arms of his friend around his back. Within seconds, he managed to dislodge the grape from Isaiah’s throat, saving his life.
"I’m super grateful, and I wanted him to know how proud I was of him and how thankful I was,” Maria Anderson, Isiah's mom said in a video posted by Mesa Fire and Medical Department. “He and my son have been friends for a long time.” She concluded.
According to Candice Conley, Thomas's mother, there was no other option than teaching food and kitchen safety in their home seeing as both of them work in the food business, Fox News Digital reported. They gave full marks to the core competencies in their son’s kit—goodness, and courage.
“I think a lot of people, maybe even some adults, might not realize that somebody’s choking. Thomas just knew he needed air to fly up, to dislodge the grape", Conley reported.
Thomas, however, really didn’t think that what he did was all that big of a deal. "It's just because I don't want Isaiah to leave," Thomas explained.
The school rolled out the red carpet for Thomas to hail his fearlessness. The Mesa Fire and Medical Department presented Thomas with a certificate last Tuesday, to acknowledge his action at a ceremony in front of all his classmates.
