BEAUMONT, Texas — Thanks to a school tour a couple years ago and some quick thinking, a Kirbyville High School student may have saved the life of a classmate this week.
On Tuesday, TJ Roberts, a sophomore at Kirbyville High School, was in a dual credit class when the student sitting next to him began to choke, principal Leslie Williams told 12News.
"Okay, what's going on with him, said Roberts. "Usually, by now, he would've cut up he would've made a joke back at us."
Roberts said that seconds felt like minutes when a playful situation turned serious. He says he remembered how to perform the Heimlich maneuver after seeing the health science teacher's demonstration one time, two years ago.
He was able to get the bottle cap out and his friend could breathe again. Thomas' quick thinking is why he is being called a hero.
The other student was drinking a from a water bottle and had the lid in his mouth. Something made him laugh and he sucked the cap down his throat, according to Williams.
"The student that was choking, he was actually chewing on top of a bottle and it ended up popping into his mouth with the bottle cap and some water," said Roberts.
Roberts, noticing the student sitting next to him was in trouble, asked him if he was choking. The student nodded and Roberts sprang into action.
"I don't know if he knew the universal sign for choking, but he instead started tapping over at his neck and shaking his head no," said Roberts. "So, we looked at him and was like are you choking, I got up and got ready just in case."
From across the room, the teacher had noticed what was happening and pressed an emergency button to summon the school nurse, but Roberts did not wait.
Within seconds he had jumped from his seat and successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver on his fellow student, who was able to spit out the lid, Williams told 12News Thursday afternoon.
"I had this impending dread of ok, if I don't do this, there's a chance that he's gonna [going to] die," said Roberts.
The student's airway was cleared and he was fine, according to a Facebook post by the school.
Someone who is choking could become unresponsive quickly and even die according to the American Red Cross.
So, where did Roberts learn this valuable life-saving skill? When we asked Williams if he'd learned somewhere like the Scouts or a Red Cross class she said, no.
Two to three years ago, when Roberts was in the eighth grade, he was taking a tour of the high school's CTE programs, Williams explained.
During that tour, Kirbyville High School nurse, Megan Clark, showed the junior high schoolers a brief demonstration of CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.
"She actually has a Heimlich Maneuver class that she teaches for the freshmen, so they kind of get a feel for what she teaches," said Roberts.
The lesson lasted no more than 10 minutes and was part of CTE day, which is a time when freshmen can learn about different classes they can take in high school.
"They just come because there's multiple kids, so they come and they go, like I said, to each rotation," said Clark.
She used a special vest with a ball in it that popped out during the demo and that may have grabbed the touring student's attention, Williams said.
Apparently something definitely stuck with Roberts from that brief demonstration on a school tour more than two years ago.
Roberts says he's glad he remembered the brief lesson taught two years ago.
"Pay attention to those small things," he said. "Watch the people around you because there are always gonna [going to] be times, maybe not as big as this, but there will always be a time where you may have to help somebody else."
Nurse Clark says it's important to know the universal sign for choking (which is by clutching the throat with one or both hands) and how to save someone in need.
The high school's Facebook post called Roberts' actions an "extraordinary act of kindness" and noted that they planned to honor him in September at the next school board meeting.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
