Boy aged 10 saves sister choking on Lego brick
IT WAS a moment which would strike fear into the hearts of most adults.
But ten-year- old Harrison Walmsley tried not to panic when he saw his sister Eva, six, choking on a Lego brick.
Instead he recalled a first-aid technique he learned at school before lockdown – and carried out the Heimlich manoeuvre.
He grabbed Eva from behind and squeezed her abdomen until she was able to spit out the brick – saving her life. The quick-thinking schoolboy leapt into action after Eva burst into his bedroom going red in the face.
By the time their horrified parents arrived minutes later she was able to breathe again. Now Harrison has been hailed a hero – and his parents have told him that
Father Christmas is going to be extra-generous this year.
His father Brian said: ‘It was a split-second decision that saved her life – I’m bursting with pride with how Harrison acted.
‘He’s amazingly calm and managed to think about what he needed to do without panicking.’
The children were playing in their rooms at their home in Blackburn, when Harrison began shouting: ‘Mum! Dad! Quick, Eva is choking!’ Harrison said: ‘It was te terrifying when I had to put the kn knowledge I’d learned into action bu but I’m happy I was able to do it. I just wanted Eva to be all right an and be safe.’ By performing ab abdominal thrusts, Harrison was ab able to clear the plastic brick from h her throat and enable her to br breathe again by the time her parents en reached his room.
He added: ‘I knew what I needed to do. She was choking and I had to act.’ Mr Walmsley, 37, said it could have easily ended in tragedy. ‘She was completely red in the face and crying – it was terrifying. She was shaking and crying and he was just so flustered – it was just such a big commotion.
‘We checked if she was OK and it was clear she wasn’t choking any more but we took her to the hospital anyway. Thankfully everything was all right and the worst was behind us. But in that moment it was just terrifying – seeing your child like that is every parent’s worst nightmare.’ Harrison learned about the life-saving technique at his school in nearby Osbaldeston shortly before pupils were sent home at the start of the pandemic.
His father said: ‘I’m so grateful. It’s so easy for a kid to choke and it’s something that can just happen in the blink of an eye.
‘But it’s fantastic that the school commissioned the first-aid training and even more remarkable that Harrison remembered it all these months on. It’s so important to learn how to do these things as you can’t predict when something like this will happen – you just need to be ready.’
Harrison’s headteacher at St Mary’s School, Maria Coulthard, said: ‘Harrison’s quick-thinking and ability to remain calm in a potentially life-threatening situation by putting into practice what he’d learned in school has made myself and the whole school community so proud.’