Updated, March 26, 2024: A prior printing of this article omitted key details important to the understanding of the whole story. The staff strives for accuracy and apologizes for the omission.
On Wednesday, Feb. 28, at lunch, a second-grader choked on a water bottle cap. The adults in the cafeteria jumped into action, and eventually, the girl was transported to the ER when they got the cap out.
Nurse Liz was in her office when Mrs. Tara Little, elementary librarian, ran down to her office and notified her that a girl was choking. Mrs. Melissa Krajcovic, elementary art teacher, stayed in the office while Nurse Liz ran to attend the student. The lunch supervisors called 911 and reported to them that a girl was choking. Nurse Liz started performing the Heimlich maneuver on the student, then School Resource Officer Rick Jones arrived at the scene. When he arrived, he took over doing the Heimlich maneuver while Nurse Liz coached the girl to keep coughing and provided emotional support to keep her calm.
“I can not imagine the terror going through her at the time,” Elizabeth Scobie, nurse, said.
Nurse Liz and Officer Jones put all their training into saving the girl. Successfully, Jones and Nurse Liz got the bottle cap out. Medical professionals checked the girl out, and she was okay.
Officer Jones advises kids not to chew on bottle caps, plastics, etc., since things like this can easily occur. The scary thing was that they did not know what the object was, or if it would’ve been dangerous getting it dislodged.
“It was scary and frightening, especially when you know a child is choking on an object and can not breathe. I knew I just had to do what I was trained to do, which was to perform the Heimlich maneuver,” Officer Jones, school resource officer, explained. “I believe that students need to be more cautious with water bottle caps or anything else that may be a choking hazard.”
“Fight or flight kind of kicked in. Situations like this are ones that you are trained for but hope that you never have to use,” Mrs. Scobie, school nurse, explained. “Everybody will agree that we are just so thankful for the outcome and that she had no complications afterwards.”
The next time you think about chewing on plastic caps or anything that is a choking hazard, just remember the consequences and what can happen. Some things that can occur are the object(s) can get stuck in your throat/mouth, you can’t breathe, and you may cause damage to your teeth. Of course, chewing on bottle caps may seem cool, but it’s better to be ‘safe’ than ‘cool.’
“I see students chew on the water bottle caps at lunch all the time, which is very dangerous,” Jones stated.
We are so glad that the entire staff stepped in to help that little girl and that she is alive.
