Boy, 8, uses Heimlich to save baby sister’s life

By Jill Whalen

Jaxson Dempsey is only 8, but he’s credited with saving his baby sister’s life.

The Hazleton boy performed the Heimlich maneuver, a skill he learned from a Nickelodeon show almost a year ago.

“He’s just a special boy. We’ve said that ever since he was a baby,” said Jaxson’s mother, Kristen Durso.

Durso explained that her fiance and the children’s father, Matthew Dempsey, picked up 20-month-old Leila Dempsey from preschool last week. With Jaxson in the car, the trio was heading to an appointment for haircuts.

Along the way, Matthew Dempsey picked up lunch from a McDonald’s drive-thru.

“Leila always gets chicken nuggets. She eats them perfectly fine. He got his food and handed her a nugget,” Durso said. “He noticed as she was eating, she started choking.”

Jaxson was in the backseat with Leila. “I have good hearing and I was just listening to music and I heard this,” he said, as he made a series of choking noises. “And I heard her choking.”

And that’s when he reflected back on an episode of “The Substitute,” starring WWE superstar John Cena. In it, Cena gave a lesson on CPR and the Heimlich.

“The scene came into my mind,” Jaxson said. “And I sprung into action to save a life.”

He unbuckled his safety belt and reached over to Leila. He wiggled her forward, placed his hand behind her back and hit her three times.

“Within the time he screamed for my fiance to pull over the car — they said it was only seconds but it seemed much longer — he was able to get it dislodged and she spit it out,” Durso said.

“My dad told me I saved her life,” Jaxson added.

Dempsey had no idea Jaxson knew the Heimlich maneuver. Neither did Durso.

“I remember specifically watching this episode with my son,” Durso said, “because John Cena was on and we watch wrestling.”

She guessed that the two watched the episode at least a year ago.

Jaxson’s grandmother, Betsy Durso, recalled coming home from work the day of the incident.

“He was so proud of himself,” she said. “I had no idea that he could do that,” she said. “He learned it from television. He’s like a little sponge.”

Jaxson’s story was picked up by NickALive!, a blog that carries Nickelodeon-related news.

In knowing that he saved his sister’s life, and that his story is getting around, Jaxson said he feels “hyped.”

“It makes me feel happy inside, and happy on the outside also. I’m happy in my brain,” he said.