A third-grade teacher sprang into action when a 9-year-old student ran to her desk with a bottle cap stuck in his throat. Calmly and swiftly, she performed the Heimlich maneuver, dislodging the cap and saving the child’s life.
“We were starting our math class. Robert was a little thirsty from returning from gym class,” Janiece Jenkins, who has taught at New Jersey’s East Orange Community Charter School for five years, told The Epoch Times. “He tried to screw up the bottle cap and couldn’t do it, so he tried to use his teeth. He squeezed the bottle, so all the water pushed the cap down his throat.”
Robert, an East Orange student since pre-K, ran to the sink when he realized he was choking, but couldn’t dislodge the cap by himself. He immediately ran to his teacher’s desk for help.
“He was signaling that he was choking because he could not speak,” said Jenkins. “I just turned him around, acted on my training, and gave him the Heimlich maneuver.”
In classroom security camera footage Jenkins is seen performing two compressions before Robert coughs up the bottle cap. She then turns her student around to check him and comfort him, wiping his cheeks with a tissue.
Having faced this ordeal, Robert told The Epoch Times that he had felt scared.
“I wanted to see if I could get it out myself, but I couldn’t, so I ran to her,” he explained.
Jenkins took Robert to the nurse’s station for a checkup before calling his mother. Later, at home, Robert’s mother asked if he needed to visit the hospital, but he replied that he was fine and didn’t need to go.
The 9-year-old’s parents were grateful to his teacher for saving his life.
As for Robert’s classmates, Jenkins claims they were too busy doing independent work to notice the incident at first. When they saw what was going on, some were shocked, while others cried a little bit because they didn’t know how serious it was.
However, the teacher made sure they talked about their feelings.
“Once we brought Robert back to the class, we spoke about safety and the importance of being First Aid CPR trained,” she said. They were later relieved that Robert was fine.
Jenkins, who has 14 years of teaching experience, learned how to perform the Heimlich maneuver while training as a varsity cheer coach at Montclair High School. She took a refresher course at East Orange.
She explained the maneuver: “You turn the person away from you and you form a little fist, you put that right under their ribcage, and you push up and in at the same time, so that the air is forced up and out of their air passage ... based off that training, I was able to save Robert’s life.”
Others have hailed Jenkins as a hero, thanking God for her rapid response. For her actions, Jenkins will receive an award on June 1, Heimlich Maneuver Awareness Day.
She hopes that, through this story, she can create more awareness of the importance of being CPR and First Aid trained. She also believes that reusable water bottles could help alleviate the danger of choking on bottle caps, and that children should learn some lifesaving strategies as soon as they can.
After his ordeal, Robert advised to “never blow the bottle in your mouth, as it’s dangerous.”
He also agreed with his teacher that it’s vital for children to learn about CPR, and how to react to similar incidents.
“You never know when you need to save a life,” said Jenkins, relieved that Robert has returned to his “helpful, observant, and happy-go-lucky” self.
