Student expected to recover despite 10-minute choking incident at Hernando school
A first-aid procedure poster in the International House of Pancakes. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. - The Hernando County Sheriff's Office says it took several adults 10 minutes of performing the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge a grape from a choking student's airway Friday morning.
The 14-year-old student at Central High School in Brooksville was taken to the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.
It happened in the lunchroom Friday just before 11 a.m. The student began choking and school staff rushed to help.
The assistant principal was performing the Heimlich maneuver when the school resource officer, Deputy Julio Escoda, called for EMS help and then took over to help rescue the student.
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The sheriff's office said Deputy Escoda continued performing the Heimlich maneuver for several minutes and then the assistant principal took back over.
After a few more minutes, Deputy Escoda once again took over performing the Heimlich maneuver and was finally able to dislodge a grape from the student's airway.
Hernando County Fire EMS crews arrived a short time later to evaluate the student. They took him to the hospital due to the length of time the student was without air, which the sheriff's office said was "more than 10 minutes."
The student is expected to make a full recovery.