Tanner Smith-MacNeil will not forget how he was saved by his oldest brother. The 6-year old was playing a game of “hide the coin” in the living room of their New Waterford home with his brother Travis Smith-MacNeil, 8-years old. Believing that his mouth is a good place to hide the coin, Tanner placed the quarter in his mouth and it slid down his throat where it got stuck.
Timely rescue by a brother
Josh Head, 16-years old was babysitting his younger brothers while his mother and grandmother went to Home Depot shopping.
According to Travis, Tanner was coughing and choking so he called Josh. He was scared and felt sad for his brother.
Both young boys were crying and screaming. Tanner’s face was already red and in pain but unable to speak when their older brother went out of his bedroom to check what was wrong.
With any delay, Head performed the Heimlich maneuver and was successful in dislodging the quarter from Tanner’s throat in just 20-30 seconds.
Once the quarter was dislodged, Travis tried to call his grandmother but did not get an answer. He tried to call his mother, Tina Smith who quickly rushed home to find the vomit on the floor with the quarter in the middle.
According to the mother, Head did not panic at all and he was good under pressure. His mother believes that the reason for his rapid response is that he cares so much for his siblings. He become protective of his brothers since their father passed away.
Head has been playing hockey since he was 8-years old and hopes to make it to the NHL. He learned the life-saving skill as part of his Grade 10 studies. It was a course he decided to take since it was free and could be helpful. He also believes that everyone must enroll in a CPR course and keep it updated.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a class on CPR and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/choking-treatment
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153849.php
https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-choking/basics/art-20056637