When you learn a life-saving skill like CPR, or the Heimlich maneuver, you never know if or when you'd ever have to use it in real life. But a freshman in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, is feeling very thankful that he had a friend trained in first aid, because that friend saved his life.
It happened during lunch at school. Someone cracked a joke, Will Olson started laughing and that's when the food in his mouth became lodged in his throat. His fellow student, Ian Brown, knew something was wrong when Olson turned red and then put his hands on his neck. So Brown calmly got up from his seat and performed the Heimlich maneuver. It took four times for the food to dislodge.
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Heimlich HeroicsHeimlich Heroics at Central High School! Freshman Ian Brown didn't waste any time jumping in and helping his choking classmate Will Olson. Brown learned the Heimlich maneuver as part of his first aid training as a Police Explorer with the City of La Crosse Police Department.
Posted by School District of La Crosse on Thursday, March 23, 2017
Brown learned his first aid skills through the police explorer program.
"I feel good that he is alive and well and not seriously injured. I felt like I was doing what I was trained to do. I want to be a police officer, and that's what they trained me to do," Brown said in an interview with ABC News.
According to the National Safety Council, thousands of people die every year from choking. In fact, it's one of the leading causes of unintentional injury deaths.
If you're interested in learning first aid, you can be trained through the American Red Cross. There are also some basic tutorials online, including this one from the Mayo Clinic.